Robbie Savage has called on critics of Steve Bruce to 'apologise' for ever doubting the Newcastle United head coach.
The former professional footballer turned pundit believes Bruce deserves credit for the job done this season and that those who labelled him as 'inept' when it came to tactics or put United down as favourites for relegation should say sorry.
Bruce was appointed just weeks before the 2019-20 season kicked off - the first-team squad led by U23 coach Ben Dawson were already on a pre-season tour of China when Bruce was confirmed as Rafa Benitez's replacement.
The bookies and many pundits tipped United for the drop but following a run of two wins and two draws from the opening four games of the season restart, the club are now mathematically safe from relegation.
With the takeover of United still set to go through, Bruce's future at the club remains up in the air but writing for the Daily Mirror, Savage believes the head coach has proved himself.
"Whether or not Steve Bruce remains manager of Newcastle United after the proposed takeover goes through is not up to me," Savage wrote ahead of the 2-2 draw with West Ham.
"But I do know one thing: he is owed an apology by whole platoons of 'experts' and critics, some of them within the Toon Army itself, who said his appointment was a relegation waiting to happen and that he was tactically inept.
"For a start, I thought the lukewarm reception when Bruce got the job was an insult to a proud Geordie who was taking on his dream appointment, just as Sir Bobby Robson did 20 years earlier.
"While Rafa Benitez is a terrific manager and rightly adored by Newcastle fans, 45 points was his highest total in the Premier League season at St James' Park.
"Bruce has already collected 42 with six games to go (now 43 with five games to go).
"Maybe, just maybe, Steve Bruce knows what he is doing. "
