Steve Bruce has opened up about his difficult spell in charge of Newcastle United after the news this morning that he’s now left the club.
The 60-year-old has had a distinguished career in the Premier League, but Newcastle fans never warmed to him and it seems it’s really taken its toll on him.
Speaking to the Telegraph following his exit, Bruce admits he’s now unsure if he’ll return to management as he has to think about his life away from the pitch a bit more after what has clearly been quite a traumatic period for him.
“I think this might be my last job,” Bruce admitted. “It’s not just about me; it’s taken its toll on my whole family because they are all Geordies and I can’t ignore that.
“They have been worried about me… especially my wife Jan. What an amazing woman she is, incredible, she’s just a fantastic woman, wife and mother and grandmother. She dealt with the death of my parents, hers have not been very well. And then she had me to worry about and what I’ve been going through the last couple of years.
“I can’t take her for granted, she has spent her whole life following me around from football club to football club and if I was to say to her tomorrow, I’ve been offered a job in China, or anywhere, she would say, ‘Steve, is this right for you, do you want to do it?’ And she’d back me again.
“I’m 60 years old and I don’t know if I want to put her through it again. We’ve got a good life so, yeah, this will probably be me done as a manager – until I get a phone call from a chairman somewhere asking if I can give them a hand. Never say never, I’ve learnt that.”
He added: “By the time I got to Newcastle, I thought I could handle everything thrown at me but it has been very, very tough. To never really be wanted, to feel that people wanted me to fail, to read people constantly saying I would fail, that I was useless, a fat waste of space, a stupid, tactically inept cabbage-head or whatever. And it was from day one.
“When we were doing ok results wise, it was ‘yeah but the style of football is rubbish’ or I was just ‘lucky.’ It was ridiculous and persistent, even when the results were good.
“The best one was to be told we were a relegation team in all but points…this was all in the first season. We finished 13th. It [the criticism and abuse] got even worse in the second year. We finished 12th, 17 points clear of the bottom three.
“I tried to enjoy it and, you know, I did. I’ve always enjoyed the fight, proving people wrong, but that’s all it ever seemed to be. A fight, a battle. It does take its toll because even when you win a game, you don’t feel like you are winning over the supporters.”
Bruce finished, however, by wishing the club all the best for the future following their recent takeover.
“I’m really happy for the fans, the city, everyone associated with this great club,” he said.
“This takeover had to happen for the club to improve. It had to happen for Newcastle to have a chance to be the club we all think it should be.
“I did my best, I will leave it to other people to judge whether I did ok or not. I wish the new owners, the players, and fans nothing but the best. I’m excited about the club’s future. That is the most important thing.”