Steve Bruce bites back at 'disrespectful' critics at Newcastle United

The club is 13th in the Premier League with 42 points following last night’s win at the Vitality Stadium.

Bruce’s appointment as Rafa Benitez’s successor was questioned last summer – and the club was tipped for relegation. However, United, under Bruce, overcame a difficult start to the season, and the club is now in a comfortable mid-table position with six games left to play.

Bruce, appointed just under a year ago while the team was in China, addressed the criticism he has faced at Newcastle after the Bournemouth win.

“Even me, at my age, you roll your sleeves up and say ‘I’ll show them’,” said the 59-year-old. “At the start of the season ... some journalists, I couldn’t even take a walk. It was a bit disrespectful at times, but it makes you work harder and stay a bit more grounded.

“You say ‘I’ll show these people that I have got the capability of managing’. It just spurs me on a little bit.”

Bruce wants the club, knocked out of the FA Cup last weekend, to push into the top half of the table.

“It would be great if we could do that (finish in the top 10) for everybody concerned,” said Bruce. “Can we get ourselves in the top 10? I’d be delighted if we could. It would be some achievement, a lot of people wrote everybody off, including myself and the players.

“They’ve responded in the right way. I’m delighted for them.”