Here are your Newcastle United evening headlines for Thursday, December 24.
The damning Brentford revelation
After his team's midweek victory over Newcastle in the EFL Cup quarter-finals, Brentford boss Mattias Frank made quite the damning revelation regarding the disparity between his and Steve Bruce's team.
Brentford were comfortably the superior team on the night, despite resting the Championship's second-top scorer, Ivan Toney. And afterwards, Frank highlighted the difference in spending between the two squads.
"I think we should have put some of the chances away so we were not that nervy in the end," Frank told Sky Sports. "We know when Newcastle have the quality strikers that they have - I think one of their strikers up front cost more than our front three - they can put one in the back of the net at the end of the game.
"That would have been nice [to score another goal] but we saw it through and won."
Jak Alnwick on his Premier League ambition
Former Newcastle goalkeeper Jak Alnwick still has ambitions of starting for a Premier League side, he revealed.
Alnwick was released by his boyhood club in 2015, but he has since rebuilt his career, impressing north of the border as he is now the first choice at St. Mirren.
In an interview with Chronicle Live, Alnwick discussed his future ambitions. "My long term ambition after I left Newcastle was still to play for England and to get back to the Premier League," he said. "That will never stop.
"I am at St Mirren now but it doesn't matter. Look at Jamie Vardy. Unless you set your targets high, then you will never get anywhere and if I am aiming high and performing well that will get St Mirren where they need to be."
You can read Alnwick's full comments on his career to date here.
Bruce on need for squad rotation
Newcastle boss Bruce revealed that he will have to rotate through his squad as he deals with a packed festive schedule.
The Magpies played an extra game in the EFL Cup quarter-final in midweek. They now face a run of eight games in a little over a month. And Bruce concedes that he will have to make changes to the team as a result, especially in regards to Callum Wilson, who has carried Newcastle at times this season.
"That's a worry and a concern for us, of course," Bruce said. "We know how crucial he is to us. It's four games in 10 games and to keep going and going, is very difficult.
"There will come a point where we have to give him a break."
Bruce will also welcome Federico Fernandez back from Covid-19. On the centre-back, he said: "We will see how he is but I sincerely hope so. But he was obviously very fatigued after real soreness of his muscles.
"He was in no fit state to play. I don't think I have worked with a better pro than Fede. So for him to have the effects just goes to show that it affects different people in different ways.
"I hope to at least have him back because we have been a little bit short at the moment."
