New Boss Bruce Sets The Record Straight

Well, Steve Bruce is the new manager of Sunderland. Whatever you thought of the guy prior to his appointment, it`s now time to back the new gaffer.

Born in Northumberland, Bruce has never made a secret of his Geordie roots. In his first press conference, Bruce stated: ‘I think they like one of their own from the North East.

‘It’s results on the pitch that matter. I hope I can win over the few doubters I have. The vast majority of what I’ve seen is positive.

‘I’m proud to sit here and be Sunderland manager … unless you’re born up here, you don’t really realise what it means.

‘It’s a working class area. It was born in me and bred in me that I only got there with hard work. I wasn’t blessed with any huge ability.

‘I got there with a bit of hard graft and a bit of determination and I want my team to mirror that.

‘I’m going to give everyone a chance. I’ve got the chance to work with the players for a good few weeks before the transfer deadline.

‘Whatever happened in the past, I’m not really interested in. To start with I want to give every single one of them a chance. We have some good players here and I want to have a good look.’

Bruce has stated on several occasions that he grew up as a Newcastle fan and this one of the main concerns among many Mackem fans. However, Bruce has certainly tried to distance himself from the Championship club. Who could blame him?! Bruce has a turned down the Newcastle job on a couple of occasions.

Speaking to the Sunderland Echo, he said: ‘Managing Newcastle has never been my dream as a boss.

‘I’m in football management now and I look for the right job more than anything else.

‘And this opportunity at Sunderland has got everything I want – the infrastructure, the fan-base, an ambitious chairman and an ambitious new owner.

‘I don’t need anything else – I’ve got everything here. Everything you look for as an ambitious manager is here at Sunderland.

‘It’s a big club with a big history, a long tradition, and the potential to really go places.

‘All the off-field components are there, and we need to build a team now to really take things forward.’

He has certainly said the right things in the past couple of days, and one man who is delighted with the appointment it the chairman himself (you`d hope he was anyway!).

‘There are times – and the players would admit this – when we’ve been brittle,’ Quinn said. ‘We’ve made some giant strides and some backwards steps.

‘I believe the thing that’s been missing is steel.

‘[Bruce] will forgive a player working hard if their passing goes astray, but what he won’t forgive is not working.

‘He was top of the list, we had some very good candidates, but I think Steve is the perfect fit.’

Well the Steve Bruce era is underway. He is currently enjoying the rest of his holiday and then the hard work will begin. With a top half finish as the target, there will surely be a number of players arriving and leaving the Stadium of Light.