Newcastle? Oh F*** Off!
Steve Bruce has reaffirmed his loyalty to Hull City by ruling himself out of contention to replace Alan Pardew at Newcastle United.
In reality it is unlikely that Bruce would have loomed large on Mike Ashley’s shortlist as he is very much a traditional manager rather than the continental style head coach Newcastle’s owner is seeking.Moreover, it will not have gone unnoticed at St James’ Park that Bruce has spent £40m net on new players at Hull during 2014 but his team are facing a relegation battle.
A boyhood Newcastle fan and friend of Graham Carr, Ashley’s influential chief scout, the former Sunderland manager had been among the bookmakers’ favourites until he spoke out ahead of Hull’s New Year’s Day game against Everton.
“People know that I am from Newcastle, I was a Newcastle supporter as a boy and it has been regurgitated since I was a 22-year-old playing for Norwich and Gillingham,” said Bruce, who claimed to have rebuffed three offers from rival clubs during his Humberside tenure. “For that obvious reason every time I am linked with them. It’s very flattering as I’m a Geordie but that’s it.
“I have a job to do here and it would be wrong for me to think of anything else other than get this club out of the position we are in and that’s all I am focused on.
“It would be wrong for the speculation to keep carrying on for the club, for the supporters, for the players. I am determined to see this through and make sure we stay in the Premier League and build on the good work we have done in the last two hand a half years.
“I have had three offers in the two and a half years I have been here and I have turned them all down so I think the chairman knows the way I feel and why would I want to leave now? It’s not right, and I hope people respect that.”
Hull are only a point off the relegation zone and Bruce accepted that some fans might believe it was time for him to go.
He added: “ We all know the industry, the one thing you don’t want to see is fellow managers being sacked, but I understand the nature of the beast and some people in this city probably think it’s my time for my head to roll.
“Thankfully I have a chairman I am convinced will stick by me. One thing none of us need is distraction and we want to be fully focused on one thing – to get us out of trouble.”
Asked if he ruled himself out of moving to Newcastle, he replied: “Yes – I have got a job to do here. It would be very difficult for us to uproot and I don’t think that would be fair.”
by Louise Taylor / Guardian