MX23RW : Thursday, March 28 22:37:01| >> :120:8904:8904:

Steve Bruce can take "a lot of positives" from Man United defeat

Only three points separate Newcastle and 18th-placed Fulham after defeat at Old Trafford.

Under-fire Steve Bruce remains bullish about Newcastle's survival hopes despite Sunday's defeat at former club Manchester United.

Fulham's upturn in fortunes has seen a 10-point gap to the Magpies whittled down to just three in the space of a fortnight ago, leaving the 17th-placed side nervously looking over their shoulder.

Newcastle have lost to Chelsea and now Manchester United in that period, although Bruce's side started well at Old Trafford on Sunday and Allan Saint-Maximin cancelled out Marcus Rashford's fine opener.

But Daniel James struck early in the second half and Bruno Fernandes' spot-kick wrapped up a 3-1 result that left the Magpies boss facing difficult questions.

"After a good hour they got a goal just at the right time then another," Bruce said.

"The first goal I'm sure we could have defended better as I try to analyse it now.

"The second one got a horrible deflection that took it into the path of young James.

"We're disappointed but I can take a lot of positives from it, especially the first hour of the performance.

"I think Allan had a big chance when it was one each and unfortunately (David) De Gea saved it.

"But for long periods I was pleased but we've got to put the whole thing together and get a few results, of course."

Asked how big the threat of relegation is after Fulham cut the gap by beating Sheffield United on Saturday, Bruce said: "Well, look, there's six or seven teams in and around us with 13 games to go.

"I'm sure there's a few looking over their shoulder and of course we're one of them.

"But I'm still quietly confident that we'll be fine if we keep performing like we did in the first hour.

"It was always going to be difficult coming to Chelsea away then Man United away, but I've been pleased with certain aspects of it."

Meanwhile, United counterpart Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was pleased to build on Thursday's 4-0 shellacking of Real Sociedad in the Europa League.

The Red Devils had secured just one win from their previous five top-flight matches, with this victory moving them back into second and within 10 points of leaders Manchester City.

"It's one of those that you can't really walk into a stadium and think 'we play Premier League now, we're in bad form'," said Solskjaer, who brought 17-year-old Shola Shoretire off the bench for his debut.

"And then when you walk into stadium Thursday in the Europa League and think 'we're in great form'.

"To build momentum, to go on the pitch and feel you're playing well is important. We've had a couple of setbacks.

Daniel James fired Manchester United back in front in the second half
Daniel James fired Manchester United back in front in the second half (Stu Forster/PA)

"West Brom and Sheffield United, two setbacks there but we can look back at them and see why we didn't get points we deserved, but that's not what I want to do.

"The boys are really focused, good at recovering mentally and physically.

"It's not easy. We played Thursday night and came back here and that's why we maybe needed 45 mins to get going."

ID:436275: cacheID:436275:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:8630:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp pictured on February 16, 2021
Read Next:
Five talking points from this weekend's Premier League action
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!