Joe Willock reveals Newcastle boss Steve Bruce’s BASIC advice to ‘run around and try and score’ before he equalised against Tottenham… and admits it’s ‘sweeter’ to score against Spurs as an Arsenal player
- Joe Willock said Steve Bruce told him to ‘try and score’ against Tottenham
- Willock, 21, came off the bench to get a vital equaliser for Newcastle to draw 2-2
- The Arsenal loanee added that it felt ‘sweeter’ score against local rivals Spurs
Joe Willock has revealed the pearls of tactical wisdom he received from manager Steve Bruce before he came on as a substitute to equalise in Newcastle’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham.
The advice: run and score.
The Arsenal loanee rescued a much-needed point for Newcastle in the 85th minute against Spurs, and his manager’s advice at such a critical stage in the game, both for the Magpies and Bruce’s own managerial future, was somewhat basic to say the least.
Joe Willock (left) revealed that Steve Bruce (right) told him to ‘try and score’ against Tottenham
Willock (centre) came off the bench and scored an 85th-minute equaliser to make it 2-2
‘He (Bruce) told me to come on, run around and try and score,’ Willock told Sky Sports after the game. ‘”You’ve got it in you to score in the box”. I’m happy to help the team today.’
Given Willock’s remit throughout his career as an attacking midfielder has included scoring goals, Bruce’s words as a Premier League manager could have perhaps been more insightful.
But they appeared to get the job done, and Willock was very pleased with his contribution.
‘It’s big you know. I thought we played well,’ he said. ‘And the boys did well. To be behind was harsh. I was happy to come on and make an impact.’
On loan from Arsenal, Willock said it felt ‘sweeter’ to score against the club’s London rivals
Willock joined Newcastle on loan last summer but still claims allegiance to his north London home club and admitted scoring against Arsenal’s bitterest rivals made his goal all the better.
‘Yeah, I’m an Arsenal player,’ he said. ‘So it does make it (scoring against Tottenham) sweeter. I’m happy to come here and do my job and make an impact like the manager told me to.’
A single point has done little to alleviate Newcastle’s relegation worries but Willock remains confident they can avoid the drop.
‘As a group of players collectively, we’re all here to fight for each other,’ he said. ‘I feel like if we play like we did today, we’ll have no problems staying in this league.’
Willock said Newcastle will ‘have no problems’ staying up if they play as they did against Spurs
