Newcastle United

Newcastle United

Premier League • England

Steve Bruce slams Newcastle criticism over ‘lack of basic respect’ during stint in charge

Steve Bruce, Nottingham Forest v West Brom April 2022

Steve Bruce has claimed that the mockery he so often received whilst managing Newcastle “showed a basic lack of respect” at times. 

Bruce was in charge of Newcastle for a total of 97 games, during which he was regularly berated on all fronts. Indeed, fans often called for change at the top.

And supporters eventually got their wish, with the club securing a Saudi-led takeover which inspired a a change of staff.

After his 1000th game in charge of professional football, Bruce was sacked and was replaced by Eddie Howe.

In an interview conducted by FourFourTwo, Bruce spoke on his time in charge of Newcastle.

“I was under no illusions whatsoever when I arrived at Newcastle,” Bruce said.

“I was becoming part of an unpopular regime and knew I’d be associated with Mike Ashley from day one. And I was replacing Rafael Benitez, who was loved by the fans.

“So, I expected criticism. And yes, some of it was justified. We weren’t pleasing on the eye a lot of the time and there were periods when we really struggled. But the ridicule and the mockery crossed a line. It did hurt me and it upset my family, too.

“After my first match, I was accused of throwing on a substitute and telling him to play where he wanted – then the next week, someone said I didn’t know how to properly warm up the team.

“I was even accused of giving the squad too much time off so I could go off on holiday! Criticism is one thing, but on occasions it got very personal and showed a basic lack of respect.”

Howe refreshing after Bruce batterings

Eddie Howe, Newcastle manager, during Premier League match against Manchester City

The arrival of Howe to Newcastle has been nothing but beneficial for both the club and the fans. The team’s on-pitch performances have improved ten-fold and the fans seem more unified with the club than ever.

Their upturn in fortunes is no doubt linked with their £90 million January spending spree but the positivity Howe brings cannot be bought.

The club looked dead and buried in December with the Magpies only managing to muster one Premier League win until that point.

Howe, though, orchestrated a miracle and managed to get Newcastle an 11th-placed finish in the Premier League. This is a testament to Newcastle’s future and to the ability the players possess.

There is no doubt that we will see some arrivals to St James’ Park this summer with the club being consistently linked with a host of players.

Newcastle are set to try and better their position in the table next season as Howe takes his project to the next level.