Tony Cascarino has told his old friend Steve Bruce to resign from his role as Newcastle United manager, saying he is doomed to fail at St James Park.
And Magpies legend Micky Quinn has backed former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe to come in and boost the Tyneside club.
The pressure is on Steve Bruce with Newcastle sliding down the Premier League table and into relegation danger
More misery was piled on Bruce over the weekend as Newcastle were beaten 2-0 by Aston Villa at Villa Park.
The result saw Newcastle drop to 16th, seven points above the bottom three, with the freefalling side now ten games without a win in all competitions and having scored just one goal in their last eight fixtures.
Fans have lost their patience with Bruce and his negative tactics, with calls growing for the manager to be sacked.
But talkSPORT host Cascarino, who started his playing career alongside the former defender, believes Bruce should resign and leave the club with dignity, insisting uniting a fractured Newcastle is an impossible task for any coach at the moment.
Speaking on the Weekend Sports Breakfast, Cascarino said: Its always very difficult when you know someone – I started football and I was with Brucie at Gillingham and I liked him; I liked him as a man and I loved him as a footballer, for his fearless attitude.
Micky Quinn says Steve Bruce is not getting the best out of his Newcastle players
Id like him to resign and I say that as a friend.
I think youre at the wrong football club. Its the right football club for you, but its the wrong time.
Youve got an owner who is hated, youre not going to be successful in any way, shape or form, the fans are against you, and I feel for him.
I don’t think resigning would be a weakness, I would see it as a strength.
“No one is working at that football club. Its not a coincidence that everybody before and afterwards is going to be finding the same issues, because the ownership of the club is in freefall, there is no direction from upstairs and there is so much uncertainty.
Im just thinking, ‘Steve, what do you gain, how can you ever win them over?’ I just don’t see a path for him to change this football club.
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The massive challenge at Newcastle is to unite everybody, but you cannot unite that club – its impossible.
Because I know him and consider him a friend, if I saw him Id tell him, Steve, Id love it if youd walk away, because hes going to lose a lot.
I dont want to see him suffer and be suffocated by whats happening. Hes trying to find something, but its not working.
Newcastle legend Quinn agrees, saying Bruce should go after turning the Magpies into relegation fodder this season.
And he believes ex-Bournemouth head coach Howe would be a great fit to save Newcastle this season and bring more positive football to St James Park.
I think Casc is right, I think Brucie should resign, the so many goals hero told the talkSPORT Breakfast.
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Not only for all those factors, but I don’t think hes up to the job, either.
Hes been pretty rigid this season… you look at the stats – we havent won a game in ten, weve scored one goal in the last nine, we don’t look like scoring a goal or keeping a clean sheet.
Then weve got new signings like Ryan Fraser and Callum Wilson who you can just see starting to lose their confidence. It doesnt look good.
Its nothing against Steve Bruce at all, I played against him and hes a good lad and a good manager, at certain clubs, but he cannot get the best out of these players now.
I think theyre relegation fodder at this moment in time.
Rafa Benitez made Newcastle hard to beat and theyve got to get back to that, but to win a football match youve got to score a goal!
My choice, if Brucie goes, would be Eddie Howe for his style of football. He kept Bournemouth in the Premier League by playing decent football.
Howe left Bournemouth by mutual consent at the end of last season
Benitez had a special relationship with Newcastle fans, but Cascarino can’t see him returning to St James’ Park
Hed be my choice to come in. The football would be better and he knows what it takes to stay in that league, although he suffered relegation last season.
There is little doubt who Newcastle fans want to return to the dugout – Benitez.
The Spaniard is still adored by supporters despite leaving the club to move to China, and the Champions League-winning coach is now available after ending his spell at Chinese Super League club Dalian Professional.
But Cascarino cant see the former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Chelsea boss going back to St James Park, saying he burned his bridges with owner Mike Ashley.
He added: Rafa made it quite clear and he gave a lot of info out to the media where he basically said a lot about what was going on with Mike Ashley at the club, and now Rafa is apparently the man to save the club?
I cant see how that adds up, it just doesn’t make sense. He had a real issue with what was happening upstairs, so why would he be the number one target?
I don’t get it. I just don’t see a relationship there.

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