STEVE BRUCE last night hailed Newcastle United’s first-half performance in their 4-2 win at Leicester City as “the best” of his two-year reign as Magpies manager.

Newcastle ran riot at the King Power Stadium as they all-but-guaranteed their Premier League survival with their joint-biggest win of the season.

Callum Wilson’s second-half double, which followed first-half strikes from Joe Willock and Paul Dummett, has lifted the Magpies to 13th position in the table, their highest standing since mid-December. They are 12 points clear of the relegation zone, and their survival will be mathematically guaranteed if Fulham fail to beat Burnley on Monday night.

Leicester threatened a late revival when Marc Albrighton and Kelechi Iheanacho scored in the final ten minutes, but Newcastle fully merited their victory, with Bruce especially impressed with his side’s swashbuckling counter-attacking display before the break.

“In the first half, I think that’s probably as good as we’ve played in the couple of years I’ve been here,” said Bruce. “Especially given the quality of the opposition we were up against.

“We’ve had some decent performances, but considering who we were playing, the magnitude of the game and how we went about it, that first half in particular, I really enjoyed watching us play. Playing on the counter-attack in that way, it worked extremely well.”

Willock’s opening goal means he has now scored four goals in his last four appearances, and while Bruce is understandably delighted with the 20-year-old’s performances in the last month or so, he admits his remarkable goalscoring run could make it more difficult to prise him from Arsenal on a permanent basis this summer.

“It’s a double-edged sword, isn’t it,” he joked. “Listen, he’s done great, the kid. He’s something that we didn’t have enough of – somebody who can run freely from the middle of the pitch. Of course, he’s also got a knack of scoring a goal. Throughout his short career, he’s always managed to score a goal.”

Bruce also reserved special praise for Wilson, who looked back to his best as he twice found the net after the break.

“When he was out for two months, it was difficult,” he said. “I’m delighted with him. He’s come and done exactly what we thought he would, which is lead the line with his pace and power.”