Bruce saw his Magpies outfit produce a poor display in the opening 45 minutes at Stamford Bridge and concede twice, with Olivier Giroud and Timo Werner scoring for Chelsea.
Newcastle though did not concede in the second half and left London with a 2-0 defeat, which has given Bruce encouragement that they will be fine in the battle against the drop.
He feels Newcastle showed real fight and determination during the second period at Chelsea and if they can replicate that over their remaining games then they will be a Premier League side again next season.
“We’re disappointed with the first half if I’m being brutally honest we got back in the game in the second half”, Bruce told the BBC.
“Defending you leave yourself a bit exposed, with the pace of Timo Werner and Callum Hudson-Odoi and Tammy Abraham up the top – they’re top class players.
“You have to get that balance right and we’re still working on that.
“We’ve been hit with covid, illnesses and injuries but it’s all part and parcel of this season.
“All teams are struggling with all the games we’re playing and we’ve just got to keep going.
“I expect fight from us, there’s six, seven or eight teams in the bottom half with a long way to go and lot of games to play.
“If we show that spirit like we did in that second half we’ll be alright”, the Newcastle boss added.
Newcastle have a seven-point lead over the relegation spots in the Premier League, but 18th placed Fulham have a game in hand and could cut the gap to four points.
Bruce’s side next travel to Manchester United before then finishing off February by hosting Wolves at St James’ Park.
