Ciaran Clark admits he was ready to quit Newcastle United last summer - until the intervention of manager Steve Bruce.

The defender has scored in his last two Premier League games - including the winner against Bournemouth on Saturday.

"It was something I thought about in the summer," Clark said. "I didn't know what the situation was with the manager and I thought about it a lot, the manager came late into pre-season and there wasn't much time to do anything.

"He wanted a chance to look at everyone in the squad, I had a chat with him, explained my situation and how I wanted to be playing games. I had a few years of being in and out of the team, it was hit and miss and I wanted to play football.

"He [Bruce] said to see how the first part of the season went and we'd assess it in January. He was fair with me, it was down to me to keep working hard and training and doing all I could to get back into the team and I've done that."