Steve Bruce reveals his half-time message to his Newcastle United players

Bruce’s side led Watford 1-0 thanks to a Dwight Gayle goal, but he was concerned at the home side’s threat from set-pieces. As it once, Troy Deeney scored twice from the penalty spot to claim all three points for his team.

Asked what he had told his players at the break following a positive first-half peformance, head coach Bruce said: “The only threat we had (before break) was the two free-kicks we gave away. We dealt with that.

"All we said was ‘much more of the same, please don’t make and mistakes in terms of fouls’. Now, I thought the first penalty was really, really soft. I thought it was supposed to be clear and obvious, and what’s the point in sending it to VAR when they’re not going to overturn anything any more?

“They looked remarkably soft, especially the first one.”