Kirkland played under the Aston Villa manager for just under two seasons.
Steve Bruce’s impressive start to life as Aston Villa manager continued with a 2-1 win against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
Jonathan Kodjia’s double overturned Sam Gallagher’s opener to hand the hosts their third win from five under Bruce and keep them unbeaten throughout that period.
From being two points above the relegation zone when Bruce was appointed in early October, Villa are now only five points off the play-offs with 30 games remaining in which to make up ground on the top six.
With four promotions in his last four seasons as a Championship boss, it would be little surprise if Bruce were to mastermind another from this position – having found Villa’s neighbours Birmingham City similarly placed 14 years ago.
One of Bruce’s former players, Chris Kirkland, who played under him at Wigan Athletic, has kept a close eye on the 56-year-old’s progress and posted an extremely complimentary tweet on Sunday.
“What a job Steve Bruce is doing at Aston Villa,” wrote the once-capped England goalkeeper. “Best appointment they could have ever made #FantasticManager.”
Kirkland, who also played for Liverpool and Sheffield Wednesday, recently quit football at the age of 35 following a short spell at Bury.
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