'Newcastle are where everyone expected them to be' - Alex Bruce

The Mags boss has come under severe pressure after a winless run of nine games, including a League Cup exit at the hands of Brentford.

Newcastle were soundly beaten 3-0 by Arsenal on Monday night as Bruce Sr again switched formations, this time to a 4-4-2, amid calls that his approach has lacked identity and been too negative at times.

It left them seven points above the relegation zone in 15th position and facing a battle to beat the drop between now and the end of the season.

However, Bruce’s son Alex says nobody should be surprised by their lowly Premier League position.

"It's the same for all the teams down in the bottom six or eight where Newcastle are and where everyone expected them to be at the start of the season,” claimed the former defender, who played under his dad at Hull City.

"There is no getting away from the fact they have had some poor performances recently, but it's also been a really difficult set of fixtures against Leicester, Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal twice, so all you can do is roll your sleeves up and dig in.

"That's all the players can do, that's all my dad can do and that's all the staff can do to try to get out of the situation.”

Bruce, who was sacked as Sunderland manager in 2011, has vowed not to walk away from the challenge of turning Newcastle’s fortunes around and is preparing to face another of his old clubs, Aston Villa, this weekend.

He is not believed to be under any serious pressure from owner Mike Ashley at the minute, but should results continue with a potential takeover still looming, the situation could quickly change.

And Alex told the Racing Post: "My dad can only deal with what he has got. He has a good working relationship with everyone at the club and I know for a fact he is trying his best.

"There have been some bad performances but some good ones as well. He's just got to grind it out."