Steve Bruce has given his support to Newcastle’s struggling record signing Joelinton, but has also given him a warning that he needs to score goals.
At his pre-match press conference ahead of the Wolves game on Sunday, Bruce pointed to his young age – he recently turned just 23 – and claimed he still needs time to adjust.
The Chronicle report Bruce said: ““He’s only young, he only turned 23 two months ago.
“He needs time to settle. It takes a little bit of time to adjust.
“Joe will be a fine player for this club, I’m absolutely convinced of that.”
It reinforces what he said in the aftermath of the Chelsea defeat, but after offering his support to the player, he then added: “If you are going to wear the number 9 shirt he’s got to chip in with a few goals.
“He can only improve.”
Bruce must accept much of the blame for Joelinton’s struggles
As is often the case with Bruce, he backs the player, mentions the need for him to start scoring, but not once does he look at the role he himself has played in his current barren run.
He is playing him as a lone striker, and not in his natural position, which is alongside a second striker.
Bruce is brilliant at trying to deflect blame away from himself, but it is blatantly obvious to everyone – except our manager, it seems – that Joelinton will never score goals consistently in the position he is being used in.
There is a chance that Gayle may play on Sunday, but as I wrote previously, that simply has to be alongside the Brazilian, not instead of him.
While a spell on the bench is exactly what struggling Toon star Miguel Almiron needs, the same cannot be said for Joelinton.
If he was to drop the striker, it could seriously damage his confidence, particularly when – in reality – he has done nothing wrong, and played exactly as Bruce has asked him to.
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