'The one thing I won’t ever do is give up': Beleaguered Steve Bruce vows to battle on

The Newcastle manager took defeat to Brighton on the chin, insisting he took responsibility but would not walk away

A dejected Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce after defeat at Brighton. Picture: John Walton

Ryan Fraser, the Newcastle United winger, responded to Saturday’s woeful defeat by admitting “we need to save our season now”.

Whether Steve Bruce will be leading the club’s fight to avoid relegation rests with Mike Ashley, but the immediate signs are the owner will keep faith with his manager.

That won’t please those Newcastle supporters who gathered outside St James’ Park on Saturday night to protest against the manager and express their anger at another disheartening performance at the Amex Stadium.

Brighton and Newcastle came into the game positioned precariously above the bottom three, separated by a point and one place.

By the final whistle, after Leandro Trossard, Danny Welbeck, and Neal Maupay had secured Albion’s win, it was hard to avoid the conclusion the two teams are travelling in very different directions.

While Graham Potter, the Brighton manager, was able to point to a second successive victory as evidence his players and plans are coming together at the right moment, it was hard to discern any positives Bruce might be able to draw from an embarrassing display.

The Newcastle manager took it on the chin, insisting he took responsibility but would not walk away.

“That’s for other people to answer,” he said, when asked about his future. “The one thing I won’t ever do is give up because of a bad defeat.”

With nine games remaining, Ashley and the board must decide whether a change will provide the kind of lift that will ensure the club stay out of the bottom three. Fraser admitted morale is low.

“The mood is the lowest it’s been,” said the Scotland international.

“We just weren’t good enough. It was a must-win game after doing alright in the last couple of weeks. It didn’t happen for us tonight. We need to save our season now. We want to try and work on how we’re going to stay in the league. We’re not in the bottom three yet and we’ve got games remaining. If we win our next game it looks rosy again. We’ve still got to play Fulham too."