It’s ‘not contractually simple’ for Newcastle’s new owners to make a swift change of manager, according to Sky Sports’ Keith Downie. 

The lowdown

Downie reported on Monday that Bruce is ‘expected to be relieved of his duties’ before Sunday’s game against Tottenham Hotspur.

Bruce met Amanda Staveley and part of the consortium face-to-face for the first time at the training ground.

But the 60-year-old remains in his post for now and took charge of training as normal on Tuesday morning.

In a recent survey carried out by The Athletic, 97% of Newcastle supporters said Bruce should go following the completion of the takeover.

The latest

Downie took to Twitter to tell supporters that the new owners are ‘respectful’ people who ‘want to do things properly’.

‘They were keen to hear Steve Bruce’s views’ during Monday’s meeting.

‘Changing things quick’ isn’t straightforward, he says, and so ‘patience [is] required’.

The verdict

It would surely have made sense to inform Bruce of the decision on Monday if indeed they intend to sack him.

Yes, they’re ‘nice people’, but there’ll now be uncertainty hovering around the training ground.

And let’s not forget, Newcastle need results quickly. They’re yet to win this season and the later they make the change, the harder the new boss’ task would be.

In other news, Newcastle may bid for this Manchester United star in January.