Steve Bruce says he is not bulletproof as Newcastle go 11 games without win.
Steve Bruce has acknowledged he is not “bulletproof” at Newcastle after a run of 11 games without a win, featuring nine defeats in all competitions.
“I wouldn’t expect to be bulletproof,” said Bruce who has not received any reassurance regarding his position by the club’s owner, Mike Ashley, or managing director, Lee Charnley, before the trip to Everton on Saturday.
“I haven’t had any assurances. We’re in the Premier League and we’re judged by results. They haven’t been good enough.”
Bruce is hoping to bolster his side by taking the former England Under-21 midfielder Hamza Choudhury on loan from Leicester. “He’s somebody we do like, yes,” he said.
“We have to be patient but we’re hopeful things will still happen in the loan market. I’ve got one or two calls still to make to managers in the next 24 hours.
“We always knew it was going to be a difficult window for us – but we’re not alone in that. A lot of teams are struggling financially.”
A manager bolstered by “good luck” letters from some fans in recent days has ruled out re-signing the Eintracht Frankfurt left wing-back Jetro Willems on a second loan ; Willems has only recently recovered from the ruptured cruciate ligament which brought his first spell in the north-east to a premature end and is some way from match fitness.
Matt Ritchie, restless at a lack of first-team action and interesting his old club Bournemouth, will, according to Bruce, depart only if Newcastle receive “a hell of an offer”.
Although most Newcastle fans appear to want a change of manager and Bruce says he “understands their frustration totally”, the 60-year-old has been encouraged by handwritten pledges of support.
“I could bring you in a pile of letters I received only yesterday telling me to keep going,” he said. “Telling me to keep bashing on.”