Bruce, players deserve Championship football if they lose to West Brom

March 7th is the big day for Newcastle United. Who would’ve thought that the main event of the season for the Magpies would be their clash against West Brom?

That is the Steve Bruce effect. The clueless manager led Newcastle United to this catastrophic situation with his extended implementation of outdated tactics and shocking team selections.

Newcastle United should be in, or at least knocking on the door of the top ten with the players they have. Instead, they sit three points above the bottom three in the final stage of the season.

Newcastle United managed to earn a point against Wolverhampton last time out, but wasted chances led to two massive points dropped. Those wasted opportunities need to find the back of the net against West Brom.

The West Brom clash is the definition of a must-win game for Newcastle United.

Anything less than three points against a dreadful West Brom side that will be suffering from fatigue after playing Everton on Thursday would be extremely embarrassing.

Moreover, Newcastle United deserve to be relegated if they can’t beat a team composed of Championship players. Burnley, who only have two more points than Newcastle United, have three difficult games coming up against Leicester City, Arsenal, and Everton.

Brighton, who are level on points with the Toon, are also a hot mess with difficult fixtures. In other words, Newcastle United have a golden opportunity to leapfrog both rivals and jump to 15th.

It is worth mentioning that the Magpies will face both Brighton and Burnley in the near future, which could see them seal their Premier League status with six precious points.

18th-placed Fulham have a brutal schedule against all the top dogs in the Premier League and that is a major blessing for Newcastle United. It remains to be seen how long Miguel Almiron and Allan Saint-Maximin will be sidelined, but the Magpies have enough talent on hand to top West Brom.

Players like Ryan Fraser and Jacob Murphy need to step up in a big way on the wings in order to spark the club’s resurgence, starting with Sunday’s game against the Baggies. A draw or loss would be a major setback, and would kill any confidence ahead of other winnable games.