Steve Bruce reveals plan for international break at Newcastle United as bookmakers shorten sack odds

Munoz lost his job as Watford head coach over the weekend after less than 10 months in charge at Vicarage Road.

And bookies now make Bruce and Tottenham Hotspur head coach Nuno Espirito Santo, appointed in the summer, 3/1 joint-favourites in the sack race betting market.

Winless Newcastle are 19th in the Premier League table with three points from seven games, while Tottenham are eighth with 12 points.

United were beaten 2-1 by Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on Saturday, and injury-hit Bruce hopes to have a number of players, notably No.9 Callum Wilson, back for the October 17 home game against Tottenham which follows the two-week international break.

Bruce, understood to be secure in his position at St James’s Park, says his players will back to work tomorrow.

"The international break certainly helps us in that respect (injuries), but we’ll see where we are” Bruce told NUFC TV. "You always want to go into the break with some sort of result. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to do it. We’ll have a couple of days break, then go to work again."

Bruce – who took a short break in Portugal during the last round of international games – was asked after the Wolves game how he intended to make use of the latest break.

"The first thing I always do is analyse myself,” said Bruce, who again insisted last week that he wouldn’t walk away from the job. “Could I have done anything differently? I always analyse that.”

A message from the Football Clubs Editor

Our aim is to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative Newcastle United coverage 365 days a year.

This depth of coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to, please consider taking out a subscription; sign up here.

Your support is much appreciated. Richard Mennear, Football Clubs Editor