Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce has been named a “fall man” at the Premier League club and the criticism he has faced since being appointed in 2019 is hard to take, said the 60-year-old’s son Alex.
Bruce has faced a largely tough time after replacing fan-favorite Rafa Benitez and speculation has been rife that he is pulling out since the team’s takeover by the Saudi Arabia-led consortium this month.
He vowed to continue as long as the new bosses wanted him in his 1000th match as a manager to chase down a 3-2 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
“It’s been tough. I’m not going to sit here and lie and say it’s not, it’s hard to look at the criticism,” Alex Bruce, who played in the Premier League with Hull City, told the BBC.
“Ever since he took the job … the lack of respect that he has done 1,000 games is unbelievable.”
Alex Bruce said his father was not given the opportunity to bring in reinforcements by former Newcastle boss Mike Ashley.
“He had an owner who was trying to sell the club,” Alex Bruce said. “An owner who really didn’t want to put any of his money into the club for a variety of reasons could just use the money the club generated and with the COVID-19 pandemic there was no money there.
“He tried to strengthen the squad in the last window. He was in dire need of reinforcements in the defensive areas, I think he was very disappointed that he could not do so, so there are many things that made the job difficult.
“He’s been a fall guy. Every time I’ve told him, ‘Why don’t you let someone else do the press?’ And he just says, ‘Because I’m the manager, it’s my responsibility’.”
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