Former Manchester United defender and Newcastle manager Steve Bruce has spoken about receiving death threats online while he was in charge of his beloved Magpies
Steve Bruce during his final game as Newcastle United boss
Steve Bruce was subjected to online threats in the final months of his Newcastle tenure(Image: Stu Forster/Getty Images)
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Steve Bruce has opened up on the sickening death threats he was subjected to towards the end of his Newcastle tenure, revealing he even had to draft in police protection.
Bruce, 65, spent over two years as the manager of his boyhood club after being selected to succeed Rafa Benitez back in the summer of 2019. He would leave his role via mutual consent in October 2021, less than two weeks after the Magpies were taken over in a deal backed by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Despite his background as a Newcastle supporter, Bruce was not always a popular figure with the fanbase and he revealed back in February 2021 that he had received "vile" online death threats.
And Bruce, whose most recent managerial role was with Blackpool, has now spoken about how said incident led to precautionary measures being taken at his home.
Speaking to SACKED!, Bruce said: "Towards the end it became a little bit toxic and by the way, this is only a tiny minority when they're threatening you and you have to get the police involved – and we had to do that. We had to do that in the end where you knew that this is bordering on being ridiculous.
"I'm one of them. I'm a Newcastle fan and I could understand that frustration. They didn't want to be a team that’s aspiration was to just stay in the Premier League and that was my job. That was my remit. I wouldn't change it. I've managed Newcastle, my hometown club, which I thought in the circumstances I did okay with.
"However, there's no doubt it was difficult. But then again, so was Villa, so was Sunderland, so were they all."
Bruce went on to explain the extent of said abuse and the consequences it brought. His wife would later move back to Cheshire when the Covid pandemic was in full swing, he added.
Steve Bruce speaking on SACKED!
Bruce opened up on the ordeal on the SACKED! podcast(Image: YouTube: Sacked!TheShow)
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"I needed a bit of protection on the house and it was something which I don't really judge that on the support of Newcastle. The supporters of Newcastle are a magnificent lot. We see it now and we've seen it for years. I believe it is all fed by social media in the hatred that brews up and was something that we had to call the police. When they are threatening to kill you and all the rest of it then it is ridiculous and it did border on being ridiculous at times.
"I managed through COVID too so towards the end my wife went back to Cheshire where she could breathe a little bit. It was pretty normal for everybody because football carried on during the COVID time so we handled it like that but it wasn't easy for any of the family at all. Thankfully my mum and dad weren't alive to see it but it was certainly difficult, difficult times."
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