Thousands of Newcastle fans have been voting in a survey by Chronicle Live as to who they next want to see in the dugout at St James' Park.

A mammoth 95% of the 14,000 supporters who took the survey called for the club to part ways with Steve Bruce. Newcastle are two points above the Premier League drop zone and have a game in hand, but 92% fear relegation under the incumbent manager.

Who do Newcastle fans want instead?

There were 10,000 responses submitted as to the preferred candidate for Bruce's replacement.

Former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe led the way with the backing of 25%, although he is presently the frontrunner for the vacant role at Celtic.

Around 1,600 respondents favour a return for Rafael Benitez, who led the Magpies to 10th in 2017/18 and 13th the following season before departing the club at the end of his contract.

In third place was Chris Wilder, who left Sheffield United by mutual consent earlier this month. He 'narrowly' placed ahead of another intriguing candidate in the form of Frank Lampard, who was sacked by Chelsea at the end of January.

Transfer Tavern verdict

All four of these candidates would likely be welcomed with open arms on Tyneside.

Howe would look to implement an expansive, ambitious brand of football, almost the polar opposite of the conservative tactics often employed by Bruce.

Benitez has proven that he is a world-class coach, as illustrated by his CV, Wilder remarkably led Sheffield United from League One to the top half of the Premier League and Lampard commendably secured a top four finish for Chelsea following Eden Hazard's departure in the summer of 2019.

In other news, Lee Ryder dropped an inside claim on this promising Newcastle youngster.