STEVE BRUCE claims he has taken Newcastle United forward since replacing Rafael Benitez, and insists he will not be distracted by the mounting fans’ frustration over his continued position as manager.

Tuesday’s limp Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Brentford sparked a furious reaction on social media and supporters’ forums, with a large number of fans calling for Bruce’s dismissal.

With matches taking place behind-closed-doors, it is hard to gauge whether the social media calls represent a vocal minority orthe thoughts of a majority of fans, but Bruce would almost certainly have been in for an awkward evening had there been a packed away end at the Etihad Stadium when Newcastle take on Manchester City in the Premier League tonight.

The Magpies manager understands the unhappiness at Tuesday’s cup exit, and claims no one was more frustrated than himself at the meek manner in which his players lost to Championship opposition. However, he does not accept accusations that he has overseen a period of stagnation since replacing Benitez 18 months’ ago.

The Spaniard bequeathed a side that finished the 2018-19 season in 13th position in the Premier League table, so with Newcastle sitting in 12th ahead of this weekend’s fixtures, ahead of 13th-placed Crystal Palace only on goal difference, the statistics do not really provide evidence of any meaningful progress.

Nevertheless, given that he has to deal with a collapsed takeover and a major Covid outbreak that forced the closure of Newcastle’s Darsley Park training ground for ten days, Bruce feels it would be unfair to claim that things are going backwards on his watch.

“Since I’ve walked through the door, the first thing I’ve tried to do is take the club forward,” he said. “That’s my job. I’m a Newcastle fan, like everyone knows.

“It’s slow, and after the other night (against Brentford), you have to accept that people are going to say there’s been no progress. I would beg to differ, but I’m never going to shy away from the fact that people have their opinions.

“Of course now, when you’re up against it a bit, you have to batten down the hatches and firmly believe in what you’re doing. We’ve got to go work, and get the squad and the team as good as I can get them.

“There’s no disputing the fact that we’ve had a poor week, especially when we’ve blown the opportunity that we had. Unfortunately, that’s been Newcastle over the last 40 years where we haven’t been to a semi-final (in the League Cup). I’m as disappointed as anybody else.”

The lack of urgency in Newcastle’s performance on Tuesday was especially alarming, with the players unable to rouse themselves once they fell behind midway through the second half.

The club’s last three performances have all been extremely flat, which is hardly a good sign ahead of a run of matches that pits the Magpies against Manchester City, Liverpool and Leicester in the space of just over a week.

Bruce has always cited his squad’s togetherness and commitment as one of their biggest assets, and while Tuesday’s insipid display might have suggested otherwise, he is adamant his players remain as united and driven as ever, even if he concedes they are currently stuck in a run of poor form.

“I’ve worked with the squad now for the past 18 months, and the vast majority – certainly seven that played the other day – are players that came out of the Championship,” he said. “They’ve been at the club a long time, and they know exactly what it takes.

“The one thing you have to have is that ability to roll your sleeves up and get on with it, because it’s difficult. When you play for a big club like ours, that’s what it is. You have to face the music when it comes your way, and meet the challenge.

“Over the last 18 months, the one thing I can’t level at them is a lack of commitment. Yes, we can pass the ball better. Yes, we can play better than we did the other night. That is the biggest disappointment for me because unfortunately, in the last week in particular, we haven’t done enough with the ball. We’ve been so slow and pedestrian with the ball, and unfortunately that’s not been good enough.”