Steve Bruce was backed for Manchester United job as Newcastle United linked with 23-y/o England international striker and Joey Barton' refuses to accept relegation on CV

That’s after Joe Willock netted a last-gasp equaliser against top-flight champions Liverpool over the weekend.

Although, Miguel Almiron was forced with an injury off against the Reds ahead of a dramatic final few minutes at Anfield.

Here, though, we take you through all of the latest Newcastle United related news and talk from around the division that you may have missed today:

Joey Barton refuses to accept relegation despite Portsmouth sealing fate

Former Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton has refused to accept a relegation on his managerial CV after Portsmouth sent Bristol Rovers down to League Two.

The Blues' 1-0 win at Fratton Park confirmed the Gas' relegation.

He told the Bristol Post: “For me as a coach, it’s a strange one because deep down I don’t think I will ever accept this is a relegation on my CV, albeit it will live there forever, but I’m absolutely convinced that had we had our processes and things in place, this should never happen. It should never happen.

“It can happen to you in the top divisions if you don’t have quality in the building, but in the lower leagues you just have to be fit and organised, that’s half the battle.

“We’ve gone down having a scrap today. Portsmouth have had one shot on goal and managed to win the game. We could be out here all day, we ain’t going to score a goal with what we’ve got going on at this moment.

"Looking to the future, and that’s all you can do. The sooner this season’s done and dusted, if I could finish it tomorrow and get rid of them all and a report date for pre-season, I would do, but we’ve got fixtures to fulfil and we’ve got to give our all.

“We’ve been here a long time. It’s tough because there moments where you think if you keep playing like that consistently, but there’s key moments where you can do anything about it, you can’t coach that.

“You can’t coach people to play football if they’re playing at Fratton Park in April with three games to go in the season. You can’t be teaching to play football like that.”

Newcastle United eye Chelsea striker – reports

Newcastle United are among the clubs interested in signing Tammy Abraham from Chelsea in the summer transfer window.

That’s according to TEAMtalk who states West Ham United, Aston Villa and Southampton are also interested.

Abraham, an England international, reportedly wants a new contract worth £180,000 per week at Stamford Bridge.

However, Chelsea won’t pay Abraham that much much and are willing to sell him this summer if they can find a buyer.

The 23-year-old netted 15 Premier League goals during last season’s campaign and has scored six so far this season.

Paul Ince backed Steve Bruce for Manchester United job

Paul Ince has admitted that he thought Steve Bruce and Mark Hughes would have been a better choice for Manchester United than Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

“Listen, I think Ole is always calm and doesn’t get too emotional about situations. At the time, when they gave Ole the job, I thought he was really inexperienced for one of the biggest clubs in the world.

“I thought there were better managers out there with more experience, like Steve Bruce or Mark Hughes, who could have come in and done a better job.

“But saying that, he’s obviously changed the mindset of the players after Mourinho and the results have been very, very good. The performances have still been really inconsistent, even last week against Burnley, it wasn’t a great performance.

“We look at their away record, they keep going behind and then coming back. They’ve got great character and mental toughness to come back.

“As a manager, you don’t want to keep going behind in games and having to come back but it shows you’ve got the character and mental side to do that.

“Listen, next year, Chelsea will be strong, Arsenal will be, Spurs will be, there will be a lot of teams that are strong. At the moment, well done, but there’s still a long way to go.”

Pundit delivers Joe Willock verdict following Liverpool equaliser

Noel Whelan has stated that it would be a great deal for Newcastle United if Joe Willock returns to the club in any capacity next season.

Willock, who has netted from the bench in the Magpies’ last three fixtures, is on loan from fellow Premier League side Arsenal.

“He’s already kind of bedded in and he’s shown his worth,” Noel Whelan told Football Insider.

“It’s really down to Arteta and if he has plans for him in the future. If he has got plans for him in the future but not right now then another loan deal is good for both sides.

“If they can strike a deal and get him in permanently and he’s happy to do that and move to Newcastle then even better.

“He’s got youth on his side, he’s going to progress and get better and that will be beneficial for Newcastle and for whichever manager is there over the next few years.”

Football Insider state that a ‘Newcastle source’ has told the site that discussions over a second loan spell for Willock took place in January though ‘nothing was written into the deal that was eventually signed.’

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