Steve Bruce has fired back at anyone who believes the suggestion that Newcastle United have been lucky this season and has stated that he found the remark to be an “insult”.
, according to a report by
The Toon Army, who were in action against Oxford United in their FA Cup replay on Tuesday night and progressed 3-2 after extra time, have come under a bit of criticism for the way they set-up and play.
However, those suggestions appear to have riled Bruce as he felt that it was not fair on his group of players and did not reflect their ability in the right light – pointing out Newcastle’s current Premier League points tally as an indication of how well they have done.
“In the past couple of weeks maybe,” he said in response to being a little fortunate at times, as per The Guardian.
“But I can’t see that our accumulation of points over the past seven months of the Premier League is luck.
“I think that’s an insult to the players. I really, really do. They might not be the best technically but they go out and give as much as they can. That’s all you can ask.”
Indeed, it might be a bit unfair to suggest that Newcastle have been “lucky” as they have had anything-but-luck when it comes down to things on and off the pitch.
Prior to the encounter with League One outfit Oxford, Bruce highlighted just how many injury problems the Magpies have had to deal with this season, stating that he was still without “seven or eight” players for that Cup tie (Newcastle Chronicle).
The St. James’ Park outfit have stuck to a 5-4-1 system when in top-flight action this season (per TransferMarkt), which has also helped to fetch them some impressive results against the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Chelsea.
Bruce appears to have a point in hitting out at any critics that may have slammed the way his Newcastle side set-up and play their football, as it would be hard to tell the manager to change things up when one formation appears to give them some success against some of the very best the Premier League has to offer.
