Bruce ponders retirement after Newcastle exit
FORMER Hull City manager Steve Bruce has revealed the Newcastle United job ‘took a toll’ on his family and hinted that it could be his last post in management after his departure from the club.
The 60-year-old’s time at the Magpies came to an end yesterday following a dismal start to the Premier League season where they failed to win any of their opening eight matches.
His last game in charge - his 1000th as a manager - came in the 3-2 defeat against Spurs and he leaves with Newcastle second bottom.
In his 23 years as a coach he has had spells at Sheffield United, Huddersfield, Wigan, Crystal Palace, Birmingham, Sunderland, the Tigers, Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday, before joining Newcastle.
“I think this might be my last job,” he said in an interview with the Telegraph. “It’s not just about me; it’s taken its toll on my whole family because they are all Geordies and I can’t ignore that.
“They have been worried about me... especially my wife Jan. What an amazing woman she is, incredible, she’s just a fantastic woman, wife and mother and grandmother. She dealt with the death of my parents, hers have not been very well. And then she had me to worry about and what I’ve been going through the last couple of years.
“I’m 60 and I don’t know if I want to put her through it again. We’ve got a good life so, yeah, this will probably be me done as a manager - until I get a call from a chairman asking if I can give them a hand. Never say never, I’ve learnt that.”
Reflecting on his time as a manager, Bruce feels like he dealt with the pressure well but claimed he found it ‘very tough’ on Tyneside.
He added: “By the time I got to Newcastle, I thought I could handle everything thrown at me but it has been very, very tough. To never really be wanted, to feel that people wanted me to fail, to read people constantly saying I would fail, that I was useless, a fat waste of space, a stupid, tactically inept cabbage-head or whatever. I tried to enjoy it and, you know, I did. I’ve always enjoyed the fight, proving people wrong, but that’s all it ever seemed to be. It does take its toll because even when you win, you don’t feel like you are winning over the fans.”