Steve Bruce leaves Newcastle by mutual consent following Saudi takeover
Dead man walking Steve Bruce is finally SACKED by Newcastle’s new Saudi owners but pockets £8MILLION pay-off… and now hunt is on for a big-name boss, with Graeme Jones in temporary charge
Steve Bruce’s sacking as Newcastle manager has been confirmed by the clubBruce was let go after the new Saudi-led consortium took over NewcastleSacked Bruce completed his 1,000th game in management last weekend But that ended in a 3-2 defeat by Tottenham, with the owners watching on Graeme Jones has taken temporary charge while a new manager is found‘This is a club with incredible support, and I hope the new owners can take it forward to where we all want it to be,’ said Bruce in a statement Paulo Fonseca, Lucien Favre and Steven Gerrard among those on club’s shortlist
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
(function (src, d, tag){
var s = d.createElement(tag), prev = d.getElementsByTagName(tag)[0];
s.src = src;
prev.parentNode.insertBefore(s, prev);
}(“https://www.dailymail.co.uk/static/gunther/1.17.0/async_bundle–.js”, document, “script”));
<!–
DM.loadCSS(“https://www.dailymail.co.uk/static/gunther/gunther-2159/video_bundle–.css”);
<!–
Steve Bruce has finally been sacked as head coach of Newcastle United by their new Saudi-backed owners, nearly two weeks after they bought the club.
The consortium had intended to remove the 60-year-old last week before their opening match against Spurs, knowing that to leave him in post risked the atmosphere turning toxic inside St James’ Park.
That is exactly how it played out as supporters again turned on Bruce during a 3-2 defeat, after which captain Jamaal Lascelles and team-mate Isaac Hayden had to be pulled apart by staff when they clashed in the tunnel area.
The new owners knew that the situation could not be allowed to fester any longer and it was confirmed on Wednesday morning that Bruce had left the club by ‘mutual consent’. As revealed by Sportsmail, he will pocket £8million in compensation.
Graeme Jones is set to take temporary charge for Saturday’s trip to Crystal Palace before a permanent appointment is made. The Magpies are currently second bottom in the Premier League and without a win in eight matches.
A club statement read: ‘Newcastle United can confirm that Steve Bruce has left his position as head coach by mutual consent.
Steve Bruce has been sacked as Newcastle manager by the club’s new Saudi-backed owners
Bruce’s axing is the first big decision new director Amanda Staveley (pictured with husband and fellow director Mehrdad Ghodoussi) and the new Saudi-led consortium have made
‘He leaves the Magpies after more than two years in charge, having steered the club to 13th and 12th- place finishes in the Premier League and reaching the quarter-final stage in both the Emirates FA Cup and Carabao Cup during his tenure.
‘Newcastle United would like to place on record its gratitude to Steve for his contribution and wishes him well for the future.
‘Graeme Jones will lead the team on an interim basis, starting with Saturday’s trip to Crystal Palace, and will be supported by the coaching team of Steve Agnew, Stephen Clemence, Ben Dawson and Simon Smith.
‘The process of recruiting a new head coach is under way and an appointment will be announced in due course.’
Bruce said: ‘I am grateful to everyone connected with Newcastle United for the opportunity to manage this unique football club.
‘I would like to thank my coaching team, the players and the support staff in particular for all their hard work. There have been highs and lows, but they have given everything even in difficult moments and should be proud of their efforts.
‘This is a club with incredible support, and I hope the new owners can take it forward to where we all want it to be. I wish everyone the very best of luck for the rest of this season and beyond.’
Meanwhile, in an interview with The Telegraph, Bruce said: ‘I think this might be my last job. It’s not just about me; it’s taken its toll on my whole family because they are all Geordies and I can’t ignore that. They have been worried about me… especially my wife Jan.
Bruce has thanked his wife Jan for her support after being axed by the club’s new owners
Bruce was allowed to complete his 1,000th game in management but his fate was sealed
Bruce is pictured taking training last week in his final days in charge of his boyhood club
Graeme Jones will lead Newcastle until a permanent new boss is appointed
‘By the time I got to Newcastle, I thought I could handle everything thrown at me but it has been very, very tough. To never really be wanted, to feel that people wanted me to fail, to read people constantly saying I would fail, that I was useless, a fat waste of space, a stupid, tactically inept cabbage head or whatever.
‘I tried to enjoy it and, you know, I did. I’ve always enjoyed the fight, proving people wrong. I was so proud to be manager of Newcastle United, even in the dark times.
‘The only task I was given was to keep the club up. There wasn’t the money to overhaul the squad. ‘I did my best, I will leave it to other people to judge whether I did ok or not.’
Bruce recorded respectable 12th and 13th-placed finishes in his two seasons in charge, but that did not tell the full story of supporter and dressing-room unrest.
Newcastle fans were overjoyed by the club’s £305m takeover, which was signed off this month
Bruce, 60, had been in charge of the Magpies since the start of the 2019-20 season
There has been widespread fan fury at Bruce’s management of the inconsistent team
Sportsmail revealed in March how senior star Matt Ritchie called his manager a coward when he blamed him for not passing on his instructions to team-mates before the concession of an equaliser against Wolves. This led to Bruce storming across the training pitch and physically confronting the midfielder.
There were also concerns over excessive days off, training and tactics, as well as disbelief at some of what their manager said in the media.
The relationship between Bruce and supporters and some of his players had broken down long before this month’s £305million Saudi-led takeover.
Sportsmail revealed in a special report in September that Bruce fell out with some players. He angered Magpies fans last month when he said he wants to keep the club ‘ticking along’
Staveley and Co celebrated an early goal but ultimately lost their first game at the helm
Newcastle are struggling and have few quality players, such as Allan Saint-Maximin (pictured)
However, previous owner Mike Ashley did not want to settle the £8m payoff and it was an issue inherited by Amanda Staveley and the new consortium.
Their attention will now turn to appointing a replacement. We reported earlier this week how discussions had taken place with former Roma boss Paulo Fonseca, who was close to taking over at Spurs in the summer.
Sources close to the Portuguese say that talks are ongoing with Newcastle and that the 48-year-old is interested in taking over.
Fonseca is on a list of names still under consideration alongside the likes of Eddie Howe, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and former Borussia Dortmund boss Lucien Favre.
Former Roma boss Paulo Fonseca is in talks with Newcastle about replacing Bruce as boss
Lucien Favre (left) and Steven Gerrard (right) are also being considered by the new owners
