Sack will be relief
REPORTING
JOHN ANDERSON believes Steve Bruce will be relieved – and likely delighted – if he is sacked by Newcastle’s new owners. The Saudi-backed consortium, led by Amanda Staveley, finally completed their £305million Toon takeover to end Mike Ashley’s turbulent 14-year rule at St James’ Park.
Newcastle are without a win this season and sit 19th in the Premier League.
And fans, unhappy when unpopular Ashley appointed Bruce as Rafa Benitez’s successor in the summer of 2019, want the former Sunderland boss out.
Ex-magpies defender Anderson said: “I think he will actually be relieved if they say,
‘Look, you’re not in our plans, there’s your money’. I think he’d be relieved.
“He’d probably be delighted to get out of it, quite honestly.
“Managers are judged on winning matches and he hasn’t won enough matches. I think he’d be the first to admit that.
“It’s been tough going from day one. He needed to hit the ground running and even if he had, there were a lot of fans who would never accept him.
“He had an uphill battle from the moment he walked in through the door – and, if anything, it’s got tougher.’’
Anderson (below) added: “In terms of a new manager, there’s nobody who really jumps out. Some will say there’s nobody available but you can always buy managers out of contracts.
“I don’t think that would be a problem, but who are the people who are going to make these decisions?
“You would hope the new owners will get somebody in who knows the Premier League.”
ROBERTO MARTINEZ is understood to be a potential candidate for the Newcastle job.
The club’s new owners look set to sack current boss Steve
Bruce and
Belgium boss Martinez may come into the reckoning to replace him.
Martinez already has a key link with Newcastle, whose assistant coach Graeme Jones was his
No.2 at Swansea, Wigan, Everton and Belgium.
The Amanda Staveley-led consortium now in control of Newcastle have spoken of their long-term strategy.
And Martinez recently admitted: “It doesn’t matter where it might be in the world, it’s about having the time and means to have a long-term project and build something – that’s what
I really enjoy as a manager.’’