'It’s the hard part': Steve Bruce has a decision to make at Newcastle United

Bruce’s Newcastle United side played some of their best football so far this season in Tuesday night’s 3-2 FA Cup win over West Bromwich Albion.

And Bruce must decide how many changes to make to his 14th-placed side against Southampton, having left Jonjo Shelvey, Dwight Gayle, Federico Fernandez and Matt Ritchie out of his starting XI at The Hawthorns.

“You would rather have that than what we were six weeks ago, because there was large parts against West Brom where I left people out, like Jonjo and Feddy, who have done very well,” said United’s head coach. “It’s the hard part, but I would rather have than what we had a few weeks ago.”

Gayle, back from a hamstring injury, made a rare Premier League start in last weekend’s goalless draw against Burnley. Bruce said: “He’s certainly in contention.”