Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce is delighted with his the commitment his players are showing this season.

Bruce came in for fierce criticism following a 5-0 defeat at Leicester in October but his side have responded by taking 14 points from eight games.

"I've been given a wonderful opportunity and I hope I can prove a few people wrong, but there is still a long way to go," he said ahead of today's visit of Southampton.

"We've still got to be a little bit more fluid at the top end of the pitch, but we'll keep working on that.

"The most important thing for me is trying to create a spirit. Since I've walked through the door, yes, we've had two or three poor performances but, all-in-all, I couldn't have asked for much more from them.

"They are prepared to run a million miles and cover the distances like they've covered. So they've bought into what we've tried to do."