Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce explains what he wants from owner Tony Xia

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After his high-profile disagreements with the Allams at Hull, it’s understandable that Bruce wants a better relationship with his superiors.

Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce has told the Birmingham Mail that owner Tony Xia needs to bring stability to the club in order to progress.

The Chinese businessman has certainly provided a welcome breath of fresh air after the stalling reign of Randy Lerner, who had fallen out of love with the club and was desperate to sell for a number of years, with Xia’s enthusiastic Twitter posts and, at times, exaggerated ambitions bringing a positive atmosphere back to a club who had suffered under a cloud of negativity for too long.

Xia invested huge sums into Villa’s coffers during the summer, allowing then manager Roberto Di Matteo to spend heavily in order to rejuvenate a squad lacking in desire or quality, as well as stating his endearing yet misguided desire to lift the European Cup with the Midlands giants, as reported by Sky Sports.

And Bruce admits that he is excited by the prospect of working under such an enthusiastic owner, but says stability is more important than any amount of untold riches or well-meaning sentiments.

“In my experience, you need stability at the top,” Bruce told the Birmingham Mail. “If you don’t have it, or people want to sell it or move out, or lose interest then that filters through to every part of the club.

“The supporters, the players, my staff. In the past, Villa’s had a bit of that in the last few years. It’s up to us now to turn it around. There are shoots of recovery, but that’s all it is.”

You can certainly understand Bruce’s viewpoint, especially after he was driven to depart Hull City in the summer just a few months after leading them back to the Premier League due to an irreparable division between the manager and the owners.

According to The Telegraph, the former Manchester United captain had endured a distinctly difficult relationship with vice-chairman Ehab Allam at the KCom Stadium and was told he would not receive any financial backing to prepare the club for a step up to the top flight despite a succession of long-term injuries to key players.