Newcastle United players were told in no uncertain terms to up their game at half-time of Saturday's 2-2 draw with Southampton.
The Magpies retreated in the first half and bizarrely sat back against a Southampton side that had suffered from torrid away form in 2021 so far.
As the side were booed off and Steve Bruce was jeered by fed-up Newcastle fans, the team were warned that they'd dropped below the required standards.
Bruce, speaking to Sky Sports, said: "There were a few words spoken at half-time on how we should have approached it.
"And we were much better.
"We could have gone on to win the match.
"We certainly needed to improve in the second half and we did."
Newcastle improved significantly after the break and were 2-1 thanks to goals from Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin going into stoppage time.
But a needless challenge from Jamaal Lascelles on Adam Armstrong handed the Saints a penalty which James Ward-Prowse converted in the 96th minute, seconds before the final whistle.
When asked if he was happy with the performance overall, Bruce said: "No, not the first half.
"And we're all disappointed now after scoring in the 90th minute as the one thing you don't want is to concede a penalty and draw the game because of it."
We want to hear your thoughts on this story, so LOG IN and leave your comment below
