Steve Bruce has endured a nightmare start to life as Newcastle United’s manager but could Genesio have done any better at the Premier League strugglers?
Former Lyon manager Bruno Genesio has admitted that he was on the verge of becoming Newcastle United’s new coach before Steve Bruce was handed the reigns at St James’ Park, speaking to BeIN Sports.
It’s easy to forget how bright things looked on Tyneside just a few months ago. Well before those humiliating defeats to Leicester and Norwich which have Newcastle fans fearing yet another relegation, Le Progres claimed that Mike Ashley’s reign of terror was coming to an end.
Apparently, the Magpies were about to be taken over by a billionaire from Dubai, who had chosen Genesio as the man to replace Rafa Benitez at the helm.
Now, you don’t need reminding that Ashley remains in place like some bloated, gloating overlord while Bruce stands dejected on the touchline, and it is easy to pass off all that takeover talk as yet more red-top nonsense.
But maybe not.
“I was meant to take over at Newcastle,” Genesio says, seemingly confirming that all those claims were true after all. “But then the takeover fell through.”
The 53-year-old eventually ended up taking over at Beijing Guoan and he has since led them to second in the Chinese Super League table while Bruce drags Newcastle kicking and screaming towards rock bottom.
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