Steve Bruce fields more questions at Newcastle United after holiday furore

Newcastle United' s head coach today spoke to the media ahead of Leeds United’s visit to St James’s Park – and, for once, he tackled every question.

Bruce had lost his composure in his post-match press conference after the weekend’s 4-1 defeat to Manchester United when asked about a trip away during the international break. Bruce’s response, which came after fans again called for him to go, was unbecoming of a Premier League manager.

At this morning’s press conference, Bruce – who has faced fewer questions than any of his predecessors – was more businesslike. He addressed his future, the team’s form – and a number of other issues.

The number of questions put to Bruce by newspaper journalists was cut in January amid his unhappiness at what he felt was “disrespectful” criticism of him amid an 11-game winless run.

Bruce, unusually, fielded every question ahead of the Leeds fixture, though that’s not to say fans liked all of his answers.

"I've said now since I walked through the door two years ago, I'm not going to be everybody's cup of tea, but I will, with my experience, hope that I can keep the club just ticking along, and make sure we maintain our Premier League status,” said Bruce.

“We should be better than that, (but) that's where we are at the moment, and we have been for a while, and that's everybody's frustration.”

Bruce is right. Newcastle should do more than just “tick along”, but the worry for fans is that Bruce’s winless and second-bottom team hasn’t ticked along at all so far this season.

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