‘Used to it’ - Steve Bruce breaks silence after brutal Dwight Gayle criticism at Newcastle United
Steve Bruce has doubled down on claims he could not have turned Newcastle United down in 2019.
Lee Charnley - backed by Mike Ashley - made the unpopular decision to appoint former Sunderland manager Bruce as Rafa Benitez’s replacement six years ago. Thousands of season ticket holders boycotted St James’ Park as a result, with the Saudi-backed takeover completed two-and-a-half years later.
Bruce kept the Magpies up in his full two seasons in charge but left a team in disarray when he was sacked by the Saudi-backed regime. Newcastle had won none of their opening 11 Premier League games in 2021-22 when the new ownership appointed Eddie Howe.
Fast forward to the present and Toon fans are overjoyed after watching their team win the Carabao Cup last week. A 70-year wait for domestic silverware came to an end with a 2-1 win over Liverpool at Wembley.
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However, memories of the dark days re-emerged in midweek when ex-striker Dwight Gayle appeared on the Open Goal podcast. The former No.9 slammed Bruce’s training methods, claiming he once admitted to not “doing tactics” following a dismal showing at Manchester City.
“He didn’t really do much on the training pitch,” Gayle said. “Then when the Saudi owners came in he stuck his boots on and a whistle. He was like ‘If I’m going, I’m going to run you into the ground’.
“We were doing some running drills and he’d be blowing his whistle. He’d make it into a little joke, (saying) ‘They’re over there watching’. They brought in Graeme Jones, who was decent. He’s very good. He saved us, to be fair.”
Bruce has swerved the criticism by reiterating that the Newcastle job was "difficult" - but one he could not turn down. The 64-year-old also offered sympathies for managers competing at the bottom of the Premier League.
“Look, I’m from Newcastle so the thought of managing Newcastle is every Geordie’s dream,” he told the EFL’s media channel. “And I lived it. There’s no doubt it was difficult. I’m delighted to see where they are now and the supporters have a team that are competing at the top end of the league.
“They obviously demanded (that). Look, they were used to it for years with (Alan) Shearer, (Sir Bobby) Robson and under Freddy Shepherd. They were at the top of the league trying to win titles. I feel for the people of Sheffield because I let them down. But I couldn’t turn the opportunity down.
“It was during Covid as well, with no real supporters… It was a tough, tough gig. But the remit was to stay in the league. I feel for these managers at the bottom end of the Premier League.”
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