Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce has a choice to make.
The Toon boss has been wildly let down by Mike Ashley and Lee Charnley. The club only made one first-team signing this summer, with Joe Willock returning permanently after his loan spell.
But despite Willock’s arrival, Newcastle are actually weaker than they were last season. That’s because Andy Carroll has been released, while Matty Longstaff has gone out on loan.
Bruce tried desperately to make new signings on deadline day, with Hamza Choudhury heavily linked with a move to St James’ Park.
Incredibly, Newcastle were not able to afford the loan fee that Leicester wanted. Instead, Bruce has been left with pretty much the same group of players as last season.
The manager has been let down by the owner, at a time when he needed his support more than ever. At Newcastle’s last home game, fans called for Bruce to go. Ashley responded with no investment and a laughable statement defending the club’s actions.
What will Newcastle manager Steve Bruce do when he meets the media?
Today, for the first time since deadline day, Bruce will meet the media.
While he will probably be bombarded with questions about Cristiano Ronaldo, he should also be asked about the clubs transfer activity, or lack of.
How Bruce responds will be telling. Will he act like a good employee and accept the way he’s been treated by Ashley? Or will he challenge the hierarchy for the way they’ve conducted themselves?
Rafa Benitez did the latter, and it didn’t go well. But doing the former would solidify Bruce’s status as an Ashley ‘yes man’ with no integrity.
If he slightly rages against the machine, perhaps Bruce’s perception among fans may change.
Steve Bruce’s pre-match press conference will be a pivotal moment in his tenure as manager.
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