Blank night for Bruce but fans go easy on him

AS introductions go, it was polite and respectful. Steve Bruce will take that, for now. In August a West Bromwich Albion side full of promotion dreams came away from Blackburn with all three points and no inkling that Valerien Ismail would quickly become a sacking waiting to happen. Fast forward to February and it is Rovers with the high hopes while Albion have been on a slide out of the play-off places. Enter Bruce. The former Aston Villa and Birmingham City manager knows his Second City past means the Albion fans will not grant him much of a honeymoon period as he aims for a sixth Premier League promotion.

At least Bruce is no stranger to waving red flags at bulls. Those scars from Newcastle are going to take some time to heal. Now he needs some wins under his belt. It could be slow burner, judging by this performance. On the pitch, his players showed plenty of attacking intent, as did Blackburn, but without any potent threat. Karlan Grant might have done better with a deflected Darnell Furlong cross while Furlong’s attempt at a sneaky quick free-kick saw the ball hit the side netting. Rovers’ finishing was similarly awry. A draw against Luton followed by defeats to Swansea and Nottingham Forest does not make such good reading, especially as the goals have dried up too. Four blanks in five matches tells its own sorry tale. Ben Brereton Diaz may have 20 goals this season but he has come up dry in his last six League and Cup games and there appears to be no one available to step in and take over.

Worryingly the striker, who had a goal chalked off for offside, limped out of the action in the second half. His absence would be a major blow to his manager Tony Mowbray, who was in charge at the Hawthorns for two and a half years from 2006 and won the Championship title. His Blackburn side were energised in the second half and really should have scored. They had a huge chance when Scott Wharton got above Andy Carroll to meet a right-wing corner but headed wide. Then Ryan Nyambe’s cross evaded a group of players before Wharton’s header from the subsequent corner was well over the bar. As they took control, the fans began to lose patience. Bruce lost his first game at Sheffield United and in the end, it will be results which will judge him.