Bruce Let's Rip!

Last updated : 27 January 2020 By Footy Mad - Editor

Newcastle manager Steve Bruce was hugely critical of his side and their "ridiculous" mistakes as they were held by Oxford United in the FA Cup fourth round at St James' Park.

The Magpies named a full-strength team, with debutant Nabil Bentaleb forcing a good save from Simon Eastwood from 20 yards.

Newcastle striker Joelinton had two goals correctly disallowed for offside.

"I'm frustrated, disappointed, upset," said Bruce. "From the first minute to the last we were never good enough in possession.

"We gave the ball away. Our whole demeanour wasn't right. Oxford made it difficult for us. But we made it difficult for ourselves the way we surrendered possession. The amount of mistakes we made was ridiculous.

"The big crowd played their part today and we haven't done enough to make them enjoy it," said Bruce. "We huffed and puffed all day and didn't do enough.

"We're still in the hat," said Bruce. "We'll be better when we go to Oxford. We couldn't be as poor as we were today."