Carlton Cole: Newcastle fans need to change or their club will be relegated

Nine years at West Ham means Carlton Cole knows a thing or two about a relegation scrap.

And the former striker has warned fed-up Newcastle fans they risk sending their own team down unless they quit their moaning.

Under-pressure Toon boss Steve Bruce is so sick of the sight of his players after the 5-0 defeat by Leicester this weekend he told them not to bother coming in on Monday.

But, Cole says the fans need to rally behind him or resign themselves to relegation – just like it was for him at The Hammers when they finished bottom in 2011.

“Steve Bruce is not going out there to lose,” he told the Liquid Football podcast, which is produced by JOE in partnership with Paddy Power.

He wants the best for the club.

“The fans didn’t want him because he was at Sunderland and for them it was not progression, it was consolidation.

“They want to progress in the league, they want to go higher up the table and I don’t think they see Steve Bruce as that guy.

“At the same time, the fans need to look at it and say ‘we’ve got to get behind this team’.

All they are doing is making it harder to play for Newcastle.

“I was in a relegation battle myself and I swear down it is not the nicest place to be. The fans play a massive role in that, they are the 12th player.

“If they keep getting on at the manager, if they keep getting on at the players, it is only going to look bleak for them at the end of the season.”