Steve Bruce sacked as Newcastle United manager

Callum Boyle

To nobody’s surprise, Steve Bruce is no longer manager of Newcastle United

Steve Bruce has been sacked from his role as Newcastle United manager, the club confirmed on Wednesday, with his assistant Graeme Jones set to take charge on an interim basis.

Bruce met with Amanda Staveley, who is one of the new directors on the board following the Saudi-backed consortium’s £300 million takeover last week, and it was largely expected that the 60-year-old was going to be relieved of his duties, though the club’s new owners insisted that they would not rush into a decision.

In a statement on the club’s website, Steve Bruce said: “I am grateful to everyone connected with Newcastle United for the opportunity to manage this unique football club.

“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 the season and beyond.

“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.”

Whilst the takeover is one contributing factor to the decision to remove Bruce, it hasn’t been helped with performances and results on the pitch, which had led to supporters calling for his dismissal long before the decision was made.

Newcastle are yet to win a league game this season and sit second from bottom in the Premier League table, but now with a huge sum of funds available, a change in manager is seen to be the best option of keeping the Magpies in the top-flight.

It seems like Bruce was resigned to knowing he was going to lose his job too. In an interview with Sky Sports last week, he said: “I want to continue [as manager] but I have to be realistic. I’m not stupid and aware what could happen with new owners.”

With the new appointment expected to take some time, Bruce’s current assistant Graeme Jones is set to take over the reigns for the next few weeks, starting with Sunday’s fixture against Tottenham Hotspur in-front of a sell out crowd at St James’ Park.

Several names have been rumoured to be linked with the job ranging from Graham Potter to Antonio Conte with the new owners wanting their next appointment to be somebody with Premier League experience in order to help with securing their short-term goal of survival before switching to the long-term focus of aiming to compete at the higher end of the table.

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