Bruce: Buck stops with me

SO much for the North-East doubling its presence in the Premier League next season.

Newcastle appear certain to end their one-year exile of the top flight, but at this rate, Sunderland will be among the trio of sides heading in the opposite direction in May.

Let’s examine the scant positives first. A share of the spoils from a contest which if anything plumbed even greater depths than the tepid stalemate here with Stoke earlier this month, re-establishes their three-point cushion on the relegation places. “If I’m honest, I can’t say a lot about a match like that,” Steve Bruce admitted after his side were jeered off in the wake of a 14th Premier League game without victory. “We need a break, but I must admit we were edgy, and resorted to lumping the ball up the pitch. We should have handled it better.”