Former Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce has been in the news of late.
Bruce, of course, was technically the first manager of the new era at Newcastle United, though did not last long before making way for replacement and current boss, Eddie Howe.
Former Newcastle striker Dwight Gayle recently made public Bruce’s alarmingly relaxed approach to training, suggesting the former Manchester United captain did not focus too much on tactics.
Bruce recently shared his delight at seeing Newcastle win the Carabao Cup, talking up the likes of Alexander Isak and Sandro Tonali along the way.
Now in charge of League One outfit Blackpool, Bruce recently opened up on his working relationship with former Newcastle owner Mike Ashley.
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Reflecting on his time working under the Sports Direct mogul, Bruce revealed he enjoyed Ashley’s honesty.
The Blackpool boss was under no illusions that money would be relatively tight and believes that kind of transparency worked during their time together.
Though clearly not ideal, it appears as if Bruce took some kind of comfort in knowing exactly where he stood under Ashley, who ended a miserable time owning the club back in October 2021.
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“All you want is a bit of honesty, a bit of help and support if you can,” he told the EFL Unfiltered Podcast.
“In Mike, and I can say this now I’ve been away for two-and-a-half years, you got all of those things.
“You knew you weren’t going to get hundreds of millions to spend on a centre-forward but that’s the way it was. I knew the remit when I was going in and that never changed.”
Newcastle United have transformed since the Mike Ashley days
CEO Darren Eales was recently keen to point out that the difference between now and then at Newcastle is stark.
Eales believes Newcastle have entered a new dimension since the Ashley days and it’s certainly hard to disagree.
In the wake of the Carabao Cup final victory, chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan vowed that Newcastle would continue to challenge for trophies.
While that kind of ambition is taken for granted amongst the established elite, it is relatively new territory for Newcastle United.
Bruce might have enjoyed his time under Ashley but, thankfully, that’s now a thing of the past.