‘I was upset’: Former Aston Villa man comments on ‘aggressive’ Steve Bruce

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Steve Bruce got his dream Premier League job at Newcastle United despite failing to lead Aston Villa out of the Championship.

Aaron Tshibola admits he was left ‘upset’ by Steve Bruce’s treatment of him during that ill-fated spell at Aston Villa, taking aim at the Newcastle United boss in an interview with the Sun.

It is never easy for a young player to adapt to life at a bonafide giant of a club, especially when they have just been relegated from the Premier League for the first time in their history.

Tshibola, a £5 million addition from Reading, also had to contend with a sudden and unexpected change of manager, one which all-but ended his Aston Villa career before it really started.

A mere two months after he joined the Midland giants under Roberto di Matteo, the affable Italian was replaced at the helm by the old-school presence of Bruce.-

It quickly became apparent that Tshibola was not going to get a chance under the former Birmingham City boss, yet it was the way he was shunted to the sidelines that didn’t sit well with him.

“As a young player you think [Bruce] isn’t really approachable and he hadn’t really spoken to me. I was literally alone and I just tried to work hard in training. Of course I was upset.”

“(He is) very authoritative, confident, aggressive. He wanted things his way. I feel like, if you look at a lot of his teams, they gain promotion but you won’t see many young players.

“I wanted to play, I deserved to play and believed in my ability and wanted to be a star even though I was so young. I was thinking the club had invested in me but I never got a fair opportunity.”

Bruce is hardly Mr Popular at Newcastle right now, despite his Geordie roots and the fact he has led the Magpies to the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 2006. But, in his defence, a couple of exciting young talents have been afforded opportunities in recent months with Longstaff brothers Matty and Sean now regular starters in the Premier League.

However, as Tshibola may argue, how much of that is down to the lack of alternative options at Bruce’s disposal? That he wants a new central midfielder at Newcastle, one which could shove the Longstaff’s down the pecking order, is well documented.