Steve Bruce is struggling to lead Newcastle away from the Premier League relegation zone but how different would things have been under Stam?
Jaap Stam has admitted to Voetbal International that he turned down a chance to take over at Newcastle United this summer as he had agreed a deal with Feyenoord just days earlier.
The Magpies were scouring the market for a new head coach earlier this year with it becoming clear that Rafa Benitez was very unlikely to stick around after a series of high profile disagreements with owner Mike Ashley.
Steve Bruce was handed the reigns eventually and things could hardly have been more difficult so far for the boyhood fan who, despite masterminding victories over Manchester United and Tottenham, still appears to be slipping into a relegation battle.
Things might have been different had Stam accepted the call, however, though the Dutchman was never going to walk away from Feyenoord after committing his future to De Kuip after an impressive few months at the helm of PEC Zwolle.
“Newcastle United called me a few days after I signed my contract at Feyenoord,” said a man who lead Reading to the Championship play-off final in 2017. “So it wasn’t an option straight away. I’m a man of my word.
“It was beautiful and honourable, because people in England apparently know what I stand for as a trainer.”
While Bruce has toiled at Newcastle, Stam isn’t exactly finding life much easier in his native Holland. A 1-1 draw with Heracles over the weekend means Feyenoord have won just three of their ten Eredivisie games this season – far from good enough for a club who won the Dutch top flight just two years ago.
Furthermore, while the 1999 Champions League winner was one of the world’s best defenders in his day, his continued inability to create anything resembling a well-drilled backline is nothing short of baffling.
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