STEVE BRUCE’S position as Newcastle United manager is coming under mounting pressure after a fractious afternoon at Old Trafford.

With the returning Cristiano Ronaldo scoring two goals, the Magpies crashed to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester United on Saturday and are still searching for their first win of the season.

While the travelling fans stuck with their team for the vast majority of the game, the mood turned in the final ten minutes or so with a series of chants calling for Bruce’s dismissal.

The Newcastle manager then conducted a prickly post-match press conference in which a question about the wisdom of him spending part of the international break on holiday in Portugal led to him suggesting that press negativity had helped turn some of the Magpies supporters against him.

Lee Charnley was in the stands at Old Trafford, and the managing director will have discussed the situation with Newcastle owner Mike Ashley over the weekend.

Ashley is understood to be keen to stand by Bruce, partly out of loyalty and partly because he does not want the financial expense of having to fire his manager. Bruce’s contractual situation means it is believed it would cost Ashley more than £1m to change boss.

However, Ashley also wants to do whatever he can to guard against the risk of Newcastle being relegated, with this month’s post-transfer window statement hinting at increased divides behind the scenes. While Bruce did not directly challenge the club’s assessment of their transfer business ahead of the Manchester United game, he strongly hinted that he was disappointed no one arrived on deadline day.

Attention now switches to Friday night’s televised home game with Leeds United when the mood of the St James’ Park crowd could be every bit as significant as the events that unfold on the pitch.