Steve Bruce reveals why he left Miguel Almiron out of his Newcastle United starting XI

Almiron came off the bench at the London Stadium on Saturday to set up a goal for Jeff Hendrick in a 2-0 win over Newcastle United.

The winger, a fixture in Bruce’s team last season, was recalled to the starting XI for last night’s Carabao Cup tie against Blackburn Rovers at St James's Park – and he created Ryan Fraser’s winner with a superb pass.

“I left him out (against West Ham),” said head coach Bruce. “He’s a manager’s delight. I made a call on Saturday, because I felt we had to match West Ham physically, otherwise the game might have been out of sight. He’ll be fine. He put in a wonderful pass, he’s a great player, the kid.”

On the goal, Bruce added: “The only bit of quality that we showed all night was the goal. It’s fair to say it’s a struggle.”