Paul Gascoigne backs Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce and questions Mike Ashley boycott plans

Few supporters see Bruce as the right man to take the Magpies forward after he left his role at Sheffield Wednesday - but Gazza disagrees.

“For me, Steve Bruce is a great appointment,” the ex-England legend told talkSPORT.

“He’s from the North East, he played for Wallsend Boys Club like Alan Shearer, Lee Clark and Steve Watson, all them, you know?

“He’s a great guy and everybody knows he’s a winner, he’s won so many medals, so he knows how to win games and knows how to win championships.

“Obviously the fans are upset and they’re voicing their opinion… but give Steve Bruce a chance.

“They’ve got to give him a chance, they’ve got to. He’s played with the best.”

The former Tottenham and Lazio man then offered his thoughts on talk of fans boycotting Newcastle.

“Fans have been saying they’ll boycott the club for 30 years, but they’ll still turn up,” he added.

“They work all week just to watch the game on a Saturday, they live for that Saturday. All the fans do.

“Boycotting it, that’s not going to change anything, all that’s going to happen is the fans are going to miss out on their team.

“If the fans do boycott it, you’ve got to look at Ashley’s financial situation – he’s mega rich.

“So whether he is going to be bothered by that or not, that’s a different thing. Boycotting is not going to help the cause whatsoever.