Newcastle United crashed out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night, yet some fans can’t believe what Steve Bruce said.
It was another disappointing night for the Magpies, who are still yet to taste victory this season.
The cup could have been a welcome distraction – a chance to boost morale and gain some confidence.
Instead, Newcastle are now out of the League Cup, and their season has effectively been rendered pointless already.
Bruce’s side did come close. They passed up multiple opportunities to go ahead, but were often denied by Wayne Hennessey.
In the end the game went to penalties, and Newcastle were unable to hold their nerve.
Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron both missed their spot kicks, allowing Burnley to advance to the third round.
Despite Newcastle once again being denied a chance of silverware, Bruce was seemingly upbeat about his side’s performance.
“I don’t think we have done much wrong despite not winning,” he told the Chronicle.
“We haven’t lost on the night.
“We have to keep believing we can turn things around.”
Technically, he’s right. In 90 minutes we didn’t lose. If this was a league game, we’d have one lovely point on the board.
But that’s the problem – it wasn’t a league game. It was the Carabao Cup, and once again we’ve failed early in the competition.
Bruce has done well in the cups during his tenure as Toon boss, but that has largely been down to receiving fortunate draws. And even then we’ve limped past the likes of Newport County.
The bar for success is so low at Steve Bruce’s Newcastle United.
Yes, it’s not his fault that the players missed big chances or they fluffed their penalties, but heralding the fact we only lost on penalties is no achievement.
It’s absolutely embarrassing, and a lot of fans are furious with what the manager said.
Some Toon fans are furious about what Steve Bruce said
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
