“I’m not one for excuses.
Of course,” he says with a shrug. “I have to accept what’s coming my way and be ready for the challenge of it. We have to dust ourselves down… and get on with it.”
“Well the progress was there for everybody to see if we’d got to a semi-final,” he replies, without any hint of irony. “The excitement? I’m not so sure where that comes from, but they want to see results and they want to see their team play better… I’m a resilient so-and-so, so I have to accept what’s coming my way, I understand that on social media (a lot of stuff is written). The only thing that you can do is come into work tomorrow, dust yourself down and get yourself ready to go for what is a hugely difficult period over Christmas.”
“Well the supporters are entitled to their opinion,” Bruce says. “That’s why they pay their hard-earned money (when they’re in the ground)… I’ll accept the criticism, that’s part and parcel of being manager of Newcastle. We shouldn’t be getting beat in the quarter-final of the cup with the opportunity we’ve had.”