IF Steve Bruce needed any reminding about the precariousness of Newcastle United’s position in the bottom half of the Premier League table, he received it while he was having his Sunday dinner last weekend.

As he sat down at his family dinner table in the wake of his side’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham, Bruce was the manager of a side sitting outside the relegation positions. By the time he had polished off his roast dinner, Aleksandr Mitrovic’s goal for Fulham against Aston Villa meant Newcastle has slid into the bottom three for the first time all season. Ten minutes or so later, and once some apple pie and custard had disappeared, Villa’s second-half rally had returned the Magpies to their previous position three points clear of the drop zone.

Food for thought? As Bruce knowingly accepts, he will almost certainly have to stomach plenty more twists and turns before the season is at an end.

“I got home last week and my good lady had cooked my Sunday lunch,” said the Newcastle boss, as he reflected on the events of last weekend. “By the time we were just getting sat down, Mitrovic had just scored for Fulham. By the time I’d had my apple pie and custard, they’d got beat 3-1.

“That’s where a little bit of experience helps. You can’t get too carried away with the emotions. You’ve got to try to keep an even balance and an equilibrium, trying not to get too excited and not get too low. Ultimately, it’s in our hands. I keep saying, it’s about our results – I’ve been trying to batter that message home.”

Fulham’s performances in the final six weeks of the season will have a major impact on Newcastle’s fate, and there is still time for Brighton and Burnley to be hauled back into the thick of the relegation fight too.

For now, though, Bruce is right when he states that the Magpies remain masters of their own destiny. Ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Turf Moor, they stand on the 29-point mark after 30 matches. Make it to 38 points after 38 games, and there is every chance they will still be in the Premier League next season.

“We got to 18 or 19 points so quickly after ten or 11 games,” said Bruce. “We had a really decent start, but then we had an awful January and February. It’s been difficult over the last couple of months, but we’ve managed to accumulate enough points to just keep us ticking over.

“An accumulation of points is what I focus on. Look, we have to win a couple of games, regardless of what anybody else does. After that, if somebody below us can go and win four or five, then so be it.”

Given that Newcastle still have to face Liverpool, Arsenal, Leicester and Manchester City in their remaining eight matches, tomorrow’s trip to Burnley represents one of the best opportunities to claim one of the “couple of wins” Bruce feels will be essential to survival.

Play as they did against Tottenham last weekend, and the Magpies will have every chance of claiming what would be a fourth away of the campaign. Allow their standards to drop as they did at Brighton last month, however, and an already-fraught situation could look a whole lot worse by Sunday night.

“We’re not alone in it, but the reason why we’re in the bottom half of the division is that inconsistency,” admitted Bruce. “We produced a performance last week that is arguably as good as we’ve played all season, considering the opposition and who we were playing against. So, we hope we can take it in to the next game. That’s what we’ve banged the drum on all week. It’s pointless playing so well last week if we don’t take that into Burnley with the same attitude and desire to win the football match.

“There’s still a lot to play for. We understand the severity of the situation because we’ve been playing in it for weeks. But let’s focus on Burnley, and make sure we get the same type of performance as last weekend. If we play like we did last week, then I’ll have no complaints.”

Burnley will have full-backs Erik Pieters and Phil Bardsley available tomorrow, however they remain without injured trio Ashley Barnes, Robbie Brady and Kevin Long.