Ashley and Charnley should at least have this on their minds for Newcastle

Does Newcastle United have a replacement strategy in mind for when Steve Bruce drags the team into the bottom three?

Newcastle United will be in action today against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, and Steve Bruce will be praying that his players pull of a shocker and take something from this game.

The Magpies have been a disgrace on the pitch in their last three games against Leeds United, Fulham, and Championship outfit Brentford. Bruce is living in his own bubble as he claims the team is progressing, but that has not been the case.

Newcastle United are only getting worse despite adding more talent in critical positions, which is why the Toon Army is fed up with Bruce. The most common tweets associated with Newcastle United have been #BruceOut, and that trend has only gained traction after the team were outplayed and defeated by Brentford’s second unit.

Fans and local journalists alike were fuming with how Newcastle United performed in the EFL Cup quarter-final, and Bruce was finally being questioned about his confidence in staying on as manager. As expected, Bruce plans to carry on and fight to turn things around.

A recent report from the Chronicle then claimed that Managing Director Lee Charnley makes the big managerial decisions, and that Charnley would only advise owner Mike Ashley to sack Bruce if the team is dragged into the relegation battle.

Well, six of the next seven league games will be against Manchester City (today), Liverpool, Leicester City, Leeds United, Arsenal, and Everton, so Newcastle United being in the bottom three by the end of January is a real possibility.

That being said, the front office needs to tackle this issue head on in a preemptive manner. Bruce’s job is safe for now, but at the very least Ashley and Charnley need to make a list of potential replacement candidates.

The sooner this is done, the better. The last thing this club needs is to sack Bruce, create even more inconsistency and drop more points with an interim manager, and then rush to hire a manager in panic mode.

The odds are high that whoever comes in would be an upgrade from Bruce, but Charnley needs to take a good look at the squad and pinpoint a few progressive managers who are capable of getting results while also modifying the current defensive playing style.

The odds of preparing for Bruce’s sacking are probably quite low, especially since fans have not seen or heard from Charnley in what feels like ages, but Newcastle United need to get working on that list.