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Chris Sutton has told BBC Live’s coverage of Newcastle United’s 2-0 defeat to Chelsea on Monday night that he does not believe Steve Bruce has lost the Toon dressing room – despite another defeat that leaves Newcastle in 17th place.
With Fulham having produced a surprise performance on Sunday evening that saw them beat Everton 2-0 away from home, the pressure was placed on Newcastle to win and replace the 10-point gap between themselves and the drop zone.
However, The Toon might start looking over their shoulder after first-half goals from Olivier Giroud and Timo Werner was enough to see Thomas Tuchel pick up a fourth win from five since replacing Frank Lampard. He has 13 from a possible 15.
Newcastle are now only seven points above 18th-placed Fulham – and the Cottagers have a game in hand. Newcastle are without Callum Wilson and fans are becoming increasingly concerned – but Sutton thinks Bruce still has the trust of the players.
“You look at the recent performances of Newcastle, second half against Leeds they were unlucky not to get anything out of the game and against Everton they were superb and against Crystal Palace they had the better chances,” Sutton said.
TBR’s view – Signs of promise in last few matches
Bruce has taken the shackles of off his players somewhat in recent matches and that was evident during a 2-0 win over Everton, and then the 3-2 victory over Southampton. New signing Joe Willock has impressed since joining on loan from Arsenal.
However, without Wilson, Newcastle really lack the fire power required to avoid a relegation scrap. Fulham are improving and Newcastle will need to properly fight to get themselves out of trouble. Dwight Gayle, Andy Carroll and Joelinton must step up.
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