'Like a man on a mountain in moccasin slippers' - Paul Merson delivers ominous Newcastle warning

Paul Merson has claimed that Newcastle United’s squad would be getting “shredded” if supporters were allowed inside St. James’ Park at the moment.
Steve Bruce. (Photo by Lee Smith - Pool/Getty Images)Steve Bruce. (Photo by Lee Smith - Pool/Getty Images)
Steve Bruce. (Photo by Lee Smith - Pool/Getty Images)

The Magpies are on a poor run of form at the moment, and are winless in eight after losing to bottom club Sheffield United in midweek.

Frustrations among some supporters have begun to mount after that disappointing result, and manager Steve Bruce even admitted that his side were “absolutely hopeless” during a press conference on Friday.

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The Toon Army are currently 15th in the table, seven points clear of the relegation zone, but Merson has warned that they could be sucked into a battle for survival if they don’t start to a show some better form in the near future.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday, the former Arsenal man said: “They’ve got to have a go now.

"I think, for me, these players are very fortunate that there’s no-one in the ground, because if there were fans in the ground they would be getting absolutely ripped. They’d be getting absolutely shredded.

"I think at the moment, they’re playing on the strength of, ‘We won’t get relegated’, but at the moment they are sliding quickly.

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"They look like a man on a mountain in moccasin slippers. They are sliding.”

Newcastle will come up against Merson’s old club on Monday night – a fixture that kickstarts a tricky run of matches including meetings with Aston Villa, Leeds United, and Everton.

The Magpies also come up against Southampton, Chelsea, and Manchester United between now and the end of February.