Sportsmail's Craig Hope provoked much reaction following his comments on Sky Sports' Sunday Supplement about Newcastle United having endured a 'relegation campaign in all but points total'.

The club's supporters responded in great number on social media and the majority agreed with his analysis of the situation, even though many beyond Tyneside may be surprised given the Magpies have 31 points and are 12th in the Premier League.

Here, our North East correspondent explains his opinion on where Newcastle are at right now under Steve Bruce, and where they are heading...

Steve Bruce's Newcastle are getting away with things in the Premier League at present

The Magpies somehow sit 12th in the Premier League with 31 points from 25 matches

The table doesn't lie, right? Except, if you have watched Newcastle United every week this season, you would argue it most certainly does.

By just about every imaginable metric they are in the bottom three in the Premier League - possession, passes completed, chances created, chances conceded, Expected Goals, Expected Points, the list goes on.

But you don't need the numbers to tell you when a team is getting away with it, just believe your eyes - and the concern is they are starting to look worse, not better.

It has been said all season they have no Plan B, yet you are struggling to determine Plan A on the evidence of recent performances.

Every week they are outplayed. Be that against top, bottom or middling opponents, they surrender possession and territory, spending the bulk of the game on the back foot and living on their nerves.

It is very tough to determine Newcastle's Plan A on the evidence of recent performances

Joelinton hasn't lived up to his hype at Newcastle after joining for £40million from Hoffenheim

It says much that their goalkeeper, Martin Dubravka, is invariably man-of-the-match and is the only top-flight stopper to have made more than 100 saves this term.

Influential fanzine True Faith has labelled recent displays 'turgid' and has spoken of the 'flukey' nature in which the campaign is playing out, expressing the view that 'the wheels are close to coming off'.

Now all of that matters not if you want to argue that points on the board are all that counts. To that end, Bruce and his team have done very well, surpassing expectation. He deserves credit for maintaining a spirit that has seen them salvage a glut of late results.

But you cannot ignore what you are seeing in front of you - and that is a side playing so poorly yet somehow getting by through means that are surely unsustainable.

It says plenty that Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka is invariably man-of-the-match

Bruce does not like this suggestion, but his side have been fortunate in the extreme. He argues that the aesthetics are a consequence of him setting up the team to play the only way they know how - by defending deep and playing on the counter-attack, as they did under Rafa Benitez.

Surely, though, that does not mean they cannot pass to each other? Bruce says they don't have the 'quality' to play how he would like. That, though, is a disservice to the likes of Sean Longstaff, Jonjo Shelvey and Matt Ritchie, midfielders who have proven perfectly able at keeping the ball.

Newcastle, you feel, spend most of their time defending not by means of a tactic, but more by virtue of being unable to retain possession.

There are, however, enough good players for this team to be better than that and, when it comes to Bruce, that is the source of criticism.

Empty seats at St James' Park during the heavy 3-0 defeat by Leicester on New Year's Day

He's had enough time now to accomplish some degree of progress, even if he feels resources are limited. But, 29 games in, there is still no identifiable style or cohesion to their play.

If Bruce keeps them up then he will be given the chance to change that in the summer, and he'll deserve that opportunity given the relegation fears he inherited.

The worry lies in his struggle to bring about any real improvement this season, and the suspicion that could be a sign of things to come.

With a good summer window perhaps Bruce will be able to implement the style he craves. He will have to, because supporters will not tolerate what they are seeing now for very long.