Gary Neville has suggested that Mike Ashley “expects” Newcastle to be near the bottom of the Premier League amid their ongoing fight to avoid the drop.
The Magpies have been a wretched run of form since their 5-2 loss to Leeds United in December. They have won just two of their last 20 games in all competitions. These victories came in surprising fashion against Everton before they beat Southampton 3-2 last month.
Steve Bruce’s side drew three straight Premier League games in the lead up to their vital trip to face Brighton on Saturday.
OPINION: Steve Bruce can’t survive new Newcastle nadir
Goals from Leandro Trossard, Danny Welbeck and Neil Maupay earned the Seagulls a huge 3-0 victory. This result leaves Newcastle three points clear of Fulham with a game in hand.
Speaking on The Gary Neville podcast, as cited by The Chronicle, the Man United legend said that the Magpies can’t rely on results going their way to stop up:
“I’m not surprised, I think that Mike Ashley is likely to do that (stick with Bruce) at this moment in time and not panic.
“I think he expects to be down there, not right at the bottom and not fighting for relegation, but I don’t think he expects to be in the top half of the table.
“The injuries in the last few weeks have been a difficult one for Steve Bruce to contend with, but they’ve got a real fight on.
“Fulham losing to Leeds the other night was a good one for Newcastle, but they can’t keep relying on other results.
“At some point, they’re going to have to win points themselves and that’s got to happen quickly.
“I can’t see them making a change. This would be the point; when you have two or three weeks to reset and get a new manager in.
“If they said they’re not going to do it, I doubt they’re going to do it at this point.
“The fans, we know what the fans think up there, we know they’re really unhappy with the situation in the club and with the manager.
“I think they’d generally support a change, but that’s not going to happen, it looks like.”
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