Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce is happy to have won ahead of the international break.

Bruce believes Newcastle United's win over Burnley will silence his critics over the international break.

The 3-1 win against the Clarets fired his team into the top six but he admits the build-up to the game wasn't pleasant.

Bruce said: "I am delighted for the players. We've all had our fair share of criticism this week, maybe rightly so.

"Tonight we have hopefully quietened a few for a while anyway. We have tried to change and be more expansive. It goes up and down so quickly - that's Newcastle."

The night belonged to Allan Saint-Maximin who scored and assisted to set up a 3-1 win.

He said: "If we can keep Allan Saint-Maximin fit he will get people off their seats, he can do things that other people can't. He is explosive.

"He is a goalscorer and a threat.

"I've known Phil Bardsley since he was 12 (at Man United) so I'm not surprised that he had a few kicks at him."