As a proud Geordie, landing the Newcastle United manager’s job would arguably have been at the top of Steve Bruce’s list when he took his first tentative steps into football management at Sheffield United way back in 1998.
It took him 21 years to make it to the St. James’ Park hot-seat, via various stops on the way including at the Magpies arch-rivals, Sunderland.
The dream job has turned into a nightmare, however, Bruce appearing to have been hamstrung by chairman, Mike Ashley’s apparent unwillingness to significantly bolster the first-team squad with decent signings.
Unsavoury though it may be, one can understand Ashley’s modus operandi given that he wants to sell the club.
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Bruce needs to get things right on the pitch, where only a late run last season saw them stave off relegation.
No wins from their opening seven matches in the 2021/22 campaign hasn’t raised morale either, and the fans have now had enough.
According to the Daily Mail, of the 5,000 fans polled by the Newcastle United Supporters Trust, and asked if Steve Bruce should resign in the best interests of the club, a whopping 94.3 percent said yes.
If the manager’s job was hard enough, such a groundswell of opinion against him makes it even more difficult.
However, as Bruce had previously noted per BBC Sport, he won’t walk away from the job.
With a multi-million pound severance package believed to be in place, Ashley would appear not to want to sack Bruce either, even if it appears, at this stage, that a relegation struggle could be on the cards.