Newcastle United: Fans not happy after Bruce describes Brighton game as a ‘cup final’

It has been a below-par start to the Premier League season for Newcastle United as they sit in the relegation zone.

The Toon have managed to win just one of their opening five league fixtures, meaning that they find themselves in the bottom three with only Wolves and Watford below them.

Next up for them is a home game against Brighton & Hove Albion, a team who sit just one point above the Magpies going into the weekend, meaning that a victory could see them leapfrog the Seagulls and therefore climb out of the relegation zone.

Bruce himself has been placing plenty of importance on this game, and in an interview with The Chronicle he described it as “a bit of a cup final.”

The former Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday manager was not a popular appointment (as pointed out by Luke Edwards of the Telegraph at the time) to begin with on Tyneside, and it would be fair to say that plenty the Geordie faithful have not reacted well to his recent comments.

Many of them believe that it shows how expectations at the club have been significantly lowered since the departure of Rafa Benitez in the summer. Here is how a few Newcastle fans have reacted to Bruce’s cup final comments on Twitter:

If you listen to any elite manager, they treat each game the same – Rafa did it every week. By saying it’s a cup final Bruce appears panicked, desperate for a win and conveys the message that Brighton, unlike others, are are team we are close to. Pessimistic, rubbish manager.

— Joel Errington (@JoelErrington) September 19, 2019

This is just the continuation of lowering fans expectations so that we will be delighted at beating Brighton at home. This is not #nufc anymore

— Raj Bithal (@Biffarinho) September 19, 2019

It’s September and we are describing a home game against Brighton as a “six pointer” and now a “cup final”… Bleak.

— Daryn (@DeeCeeGee89) September 19, 2019