A limbo dance on Tyneside
WAITING FOR LAST ORDERS
IF STEVE BRUCE really does make it to his 1,000th game on Sunday, he will be a lame-duck manager.
Toon fans want him out and the new ownership group have refused to publicly back him.
The players have existed in an awkward limbo this week ahead of their Premier League fixture against Tottenham, wondering who is next in the hot-seat while working with Bruce and No.2 Graeme Jones on the training ground.
Bruce staying on, however briefly, risks a fresh start in front of a celebratory St James’ Park crowd turning sour if Spurs take the points.
Top candidates such as Brendan Rodgers and Antonio Conte have no interest in the job, preferring their next move to be actual elite rather than wannabe winner.
A week on from the £305million takeover being completed, it turns out that overhauling a football club is not a quick or easy job. Patience and a long-term attitude prevail.
The new owners faced a dilemma all week.
Briefings from close to the consortium that Bruce would be sacked early this week left the manager seething.
He still had to prepare his squad for Sunday’s game with players thinking he was on the way out.
The new ownership group had promised a careful process of evaluation across the club, which is said to be an arduous process. While it is clear Bruce is not the long-term solution, the question was asked this week: Why sack him without a replacement lined up?
Why leave just Jones and Ben Dawson in charge on their own to face flak if they lose the next few games when Bruce, Steve Agnew and Stephen Clemence could hold the fort just a bit longer. To counter that, the new ownership want to create momentum. Would that be possible with Bruce in the dug-out facing chants demanding his sacking?
Bruce must also decide whether to be hit with awkward questions about his future or put his foot down and demand clarity.
Complicating matters is Bruce’s £8m pay-off, which no boss would want to jeopardise.
The race is now on for the new owners to find a manager who tallies with their stated ambition of getting to the Champions League and challenging for the Premier League title. Newcastle are being linked with a series of big names, although it is understood that one top target, Rodgers, has a long-term aim of managing Manchester City. Zinedine Zidane has also rebuffed soundings, believing that he could become France manager.
Rookie Frank Lampard is the new favourite, with his old England team-mate Steven Gerrard, who has enjoyed success as Rangers manager, in the frame.