Steve Bruce backs players to “come out fighting” following
Newcastle debacle
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce has backed his players to hit back following last weekend’s 5-1 thrashing at the hands of arch-rivals
Newcastle at St James’ Park.
The Mackems boss was visibly furious after the heavy defeat, but insists his side will bounce back against Stoke on Saturday 6 November.
“We're bitterly disappointed. We know what it (the
Tyne-Wear Derby) means. We have no excuses. The one thing we have to do is batten down the hatches, accept the flak and come out fighting. That's the mark of a team, to come out and do that.
We can't wait for Saturday to come around so we can try to make up for it,” Bruce told the club’s official website.
The former Manchester United defender went on to issue a passionate rallying cry ahead of their next match, as well as stating it is he, as manager, who should shoulder the
blame for their horror show at St James’ Park.
“I'm in charge and I'm the leader of the pack as they say, so rightly so I should accept the brunt of [the criticism]. We need to come out and show a bit of bottle, and that goes
from top to bottom. With that, the supporters may trust us because all the good work we have done has evaporated in one game. We have to win the fans back and that's my aim. I'm sure people have lost faith in me and that's understandable
- I can totally understand where they're coming from,” Bruce claimed.
The 49-year-old continued: “But the one thing I will try and do, as I've always done, is come out and show what we are about as individuals and as a team. I've brought the
vast majority of players in the team to this club so I'm expecting a really good response from them. We've let the fans down and we need a response for the supporters to get behind us. I hope they will do that.”
Saturday’s opposition Stoke have been disappointing for the majority of the season so far, so the Black Cats will have a good opportunity to back bounce immediately. The Potters
are always up for the fight though, so Bruce’s men will have to be on their game to put last weekend’s demons to bed.
Tags: