Bruce offers thanks to Ashley before milestone that may be his farewell
Steve Bruce has insisted he will always have cause to thank Mike Ashley for handing him the reins at Newcastle United.
The Magpies’ head coach will celebrate 1,000 games in management today when he leads the club he supported as a boy into Premier League battle with Tottenham after surviving one of the most brutal weeks of his career to date.
Few expected Bruce still to be in post when Amanda Staveley’s Saudi-backed consortium completed its takeover last Thursday, but he remains at the helm as the new owners continue to assess their options and has vowed to fight for the job handed to him by Ashley in July 2019.
Asked how he would assess the sportswear magnate’s controversial reign on Tyneside, the former Manchester United defender said: “It’s been difficult, there’s no doubt about that.
“I understood very, very quickly, that it was going to be difficult because we want Newcastle to be at the top end of the division, not at the bottom end.
“Unfortunately, we’ve been in the bottom half of the division more in the last 10 years, so to improve on that is the key to it and I’ll let other people judge that.
“For me, he gave me the opportunity to manage this club, so I’ll always thank him for that.”
Whether Staveley’s confirmation that Bruce would remain in charge this weekend proves to be simply a stay of execution remains to be seen – the club have won none of their first seven league games and are 19th in the table.
The 60-year-old has signalled his intention to remain on board as a new era gets under way on Gallowgate, although he knows from experience the club’s fortunes will not be transformed overnight.
Bruce said: “I think we’re all going to have to be patient. It’s not going to just happen and transform overnight.
“But I think what we’re all excited about is now the opportunity to go and mix with the best in the Premier League, which we haven’t been doing for a number of years now.
“To go and propel yourself among the elite of the Premier League is the thing that we’ll all look forward to – and even me as a supporter – look forward to everything that’s going to happen over the next few years.”
Bruce will have injured trio Jamaal Lascelles, Jonjo Shelvey and Callum Wilson back for Spurs’ trip to the north-east.
Nuno Espirito Santo admits it has been a tough first 100 days in charge of Tottenham.
The Portuguese reached the milestone on Friday and has had plenty of challenges since taking over from Jose Mourinho in the summer.
He has had to deal with Harry Kane’s transfer saga, players breaking Premier League rules to go on international duty, injuries, and a run of defeats that saw him come under early pressure.
He said: “When I joined I didn’t know what to expect. I live day-by-day. I can say it has been a hard 100 days, good moments, bad moments, this is part of the job.
“I had very happy days, I had some not so happy days but this is life, this is football, this is what everybody has to be ready for.”
Looking to his opposite number in the dugouts today, former Wolves boss Nuno said: “I’ve known Steve Bruce a long time. We played against each other, we were both in the Championship, so we go a long way back.
“I have huge respect. I know him. And to achieve 1,000 games is extraordinary.”