MX23RW : Tuesday, April 16 18:04:38| >> :120:27673:27673:

Steve Bruce: 'We must be ready for survival fight'

Steve Bruce's side moved up to 16th after a dour 0-0 draw at West Brom.

Boss Steve Bruce believes Newcastle must be ready for their survival fight to go to the wire after drawing at West Brom.

The Magpies battled to a dull 0-0 draw at The Hawthorns to move up to 16th in the Premier League.

A point did little to seriously aid either club's survival fight but the Magpies will at least be happier to ensure Albion failed to gain ground.

It ended goalless at The Hawthorns
It ended goalless at The Hawthorns (Michael Steele/PA)

The second bottom Baggies are eight points from safety with 10 games left, with the Magpies nine points better off than Sam Allardyce's side.

Newcastle climbed a point above Brighton to put another turbulent week behind them after Matt Ritchie's clash with Bruce and the loss of Miguel Almiron and Allan Saint-Maximin to injury, but the Magpies boss conceded it may take until the final day to survive.

Bruce said: "We have to be ready for it, we hope not and hope we can pick up enough points. But we have shown signs we are doing OK after a dismal run of games.

Joelinton could not find a way through the West Brom defence
Joelinton could not find a way through the West Brom defence (Michael Steele/PA)

"To be without them (the injured players) and get a point really pleased me, the attitude and spirit is what got them the point.

"We are disappointed we didn't win but the one thing which was vitally important was we didn't get beaten, with the problems we have had over the past five or six days and more importantly the injuries.

"The reason why we got a point was the togetherness and attitude. We lacked a bit of quality but without the big players the team had to roll up their sleeves and take a point if that's what it was going to be."

Darnell Furlong's last-ditch block from Joelinton's cross stopped Ryan Fraser having a far-post tap in while Mbaye Diagne shot over and forced Martin Dubravka into a smart stop in the first half.

Matt Phillips skied over soon after the break but the Baggies could not find a winner and needed Sam Johnstone to turn Joe Willock's drive wide on the hour.

Any winner would have been unfair though as neither side deserved the victory in a low quality game which underlined why both have struggled all season.

Albion boss Allardyce said: "I sound like a record which is stuck, looking back to the chances we missed in the last four or five games. I can't knock the lads too much because of the effort after playing against the odds on Thursday.

Both teams battled to a point
Both teams battled to a point (Gareth Copley/PA)

"The big disappointment is we didn't finish Newcastle off, we're giving ourselves a great platform to finish teams off but we fail to do so.

"It means we have to win the next game to stay alive. It'll mean at one stage we will have to win every single game that's left.

"The performances have become a part of our DNA, we are tactically aware, the performances are at a high level, our fitness has improved. The only thing which has been missing is the quality of finishing."

ID:438241: cacheID:438241:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:8754:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Manchester City's Joao Cancelo and teammates remonstrate with referee Chris Kavanagh against Manchester United in the Premier League on December 12, 2020
Read Next:
Sunday's Premier League predictions including Man City vs. Manchester United
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
2Arsenal32225575264971
3Liverpool32218372314171
4Aston Villa33196868491963
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle321551269521750
7Manchester UnitedMan Utd32155124748-150
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham33139115258-648
9Chelsea31138106152947
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves32127134651-543
12Fulham33126154951-242
13Bournemouth32119124757-1042
14Crystal Palace3289153754-1733
15Brentford3388174758-1132
16Everton3298153248-1627
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3379174258-1626
18Luton TownLuton3367204670-2425
19Burnley3348213368-3520
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3237223084-5416


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!