Newcastle United fans should “ease off” Steve Bruce, according to BBC Sport pundit Micah Richards.
The Magpies recorded their second successive league win against Bournemouth on Saturday to move up to 13th in the Premier League table, and are now just two points off fifth.
And speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Richards claimed that it is time for the Toon Army to cut their boss some slack.
He said: “I think the fans should just ease off Steve Bruce a little bit because I think he’s done a really, really good job under the circumstances.”
OPINION
Richards is kind of right, but it’s important to look a little deeper into what he’s saying here. Yes, the Magpies have won their last two, and yes, they are suddenly in a much rosier position than they were this time a fortnight ago, but it’s easy to suggest that fans should lay off Bruce after they’ve recorded back to back wins. Hindsight doesn’t absolve him from the fact that he had some pretty dire performances from his players in the earlier stages of this season, and scrutiny of a manager is more than justified when his side is playing as poorly as the Magpies were when they failed to register a single shot on target away at Chelsea, for example, as per the BBC. Credit where credit is due though, the Toon Army look to have turned a corner, and they managed a much-improved 21 efforts, with nine on target, against Bournemouth on Saturday, as per the BBC. No Toon fan in their right mind is going to be calling for Bruce’s head right now.
