Here are your Newcastle United evening headlines for Tuesday, March 2.
Almiron, Saint-Maximin blow
Neither Miguel Almiron or Allan Saint-Maximin will play again for Newcastle this month after they suffered injuries against Wolves at the weekend.
Almiron was substituted at half-time after suffering a knee injury, while Saint-Maximin hobbled off in the 63rd minute with a groin issue. The pair underwent scans following the 1-1 draw, the results confirming that they are set for a decent spell on the sidelines.
Almiron and Saint-Maximin join Callum Wilson on the treatment table. Wilson will miss six to eight weeks with a hamstring injury, while the trio have combined for 16 of Newcastle's 27 league goals this season.
An official timeline has not been provided for Almiron and Saint-Maximin, though neither will return for crucial games against West Brom, Aston Villa and Brighton.
Why Wolves equalised due to Newcastle confusion
Wolves scored an equaliser partly due to confusion among the Newcastle ranks after Steve Bruce brought on Matt Ritchie, Jamie Carragher explained on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football.
Upon Ritchie's arrival, Newcastle were set to switch to a back three, but the message was not communicated clearly across the team, and the uncertainty left Ruben Neves with space to fire in the equaliser.
"The two players to look at whose positions really changed were [Issac] Hayden and [Jacob] Murphy," Carragher said. "They're the two players who should go to right centre-back and right wing-back. Now, Matt Ritchie comes on.
He then explained: "Just watch [Isaac] Hayden. He looks over his shoulder now. 'Where's [Adama] Traore?' Hayden doesn't need to look at Traore if there's a right wing-back there and what he would do - I'm certain of it - is just concentrate on that [Ruben Neves] and fill the space.
"He's basically a right-back in a back four; he should be a right-sided centre-back and Newcastle should have this guy [Jacob Murphy] here. But it's not his fault - he hasn't been given the message."
Glenn Hoddle on fans' expectations
Glenn Hoddle says that Newcastle fans expect their club to emulate the likes of Leicester City, Wolves, West Ham and other mid-table Premier League teams that are starting to break into the upper echelons of the division.
Newcastle fans have been criticised for wanting too much from Bruce, but Hoddle says that the other teams are simply the aim for the club.
"When Steve went to Newcastle I don't think they expected anything else but to stay in the division," he said on the Glenn Hoddle Footy Show.
"I think Steve Bruce's job is safe this season. It's still going to be very difficult for any of those bottom three to sneak out of there.
"I think the problem is, for Steve, for Newcastle and their fanatical fans, they look at Leicester in the top four, they look at Wolves playing in the Europa... they look at West Ham at the moment. Aston Villa is another example.
"They look at them and think 'we should be doing that'. I don't think they expect to be in the top four, but they expect more.
"But being safe from the relegation is where I see Newcastle at the moment."
