Steve Bruce has reiterated he has no intention of walking away from his job at Newcastle – and expressed his desire to be the club’s manager next season.
The under-fire boss has faced staunch criticism since from all angles following the woeful 3-0 defeat at Brighton prior to the international break, with a large section of the Toon fan base calling for Bruce to be sacked.
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A defiant Bruce remains committed to the job at hand with Newcastle engulfed in a serious relegation battle with nine games remaining, and retains the backing of beleaguered owner Mike Ashley.
“I never take anything for granted. I realise the performance against Brighton was simply not good enough,” Bruce said ahead of his side’s Easter Sunday clash against Tottenham.
“You accept people’s opinions and move on with it. I have never walked away. The easy thing, in a fight, is to walk away.
“The last thing I will do is walk away. Certain individuals are entitled to their opinion. I am determined to see it through.
“Let’s erase Brighton against a very good Spurs team. Let’s be ready for that challenge.”
He continued: “The owner has not had anything to say at all. He sent his support to rally the troops and get behind everyone. Nothing has changes. I have an everyday rapport with the chief executive.
“It has been tough. When you take the Newcastle job there is no shying away form it. You rely on your family and staff to put it right, and you draw on experience.
“To do 980 games there is experience there. In some people’s eyes you’d have thought I’d done half a dozen.”
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Quizzed on whether he believes he will Newcastle boss next season, Bruce said: “That is for others to decide.
“I can only focus on the next nine games. I hope I am still the manager of Newcastle next year. That is for others to decide.”
Meanwhile, Allan Saint-Maximin could play some part in Sunday’s clash with Tottenham as Newcastle attempt to drag themselves out of Premier League relegation trouble.
However, 10-goal leading scorer Callum Wilson is unlikely to join the Frenchman, who has missed the last three games with a groin problem, as he continues his fightback from a hamstring injury.
Asked if Saint-Maximin could be involved against Spurs, Bruce told reporters: “He could be, yes.
“We’ve still got two days to train, today and tomorrow, but he came through a big training session 48 hours ago so we hope.
“He’s a bit more advanced than Callum is, so we hope he can take some part.”
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