Former Sheffield Wednesday manager Steve Bruce has been finally appointed as the new manager of Premier League outfit Newcastle United/
Newcastle United legend Paul Gascoigne has implored the Magpies faithful to back new manager Steve Bruce, telling Jim White on talkSPORT (17 July, 11am) that the former Sheffield Wednesday boss could be a ‘good appointment’.
Newcastle fans are up in arms right now and not for the first time. Mike Ashley has never been a popular figure on Tyneside but, for some, replacing a proven, Champions League winning manager in Rafa Benitez with former Sunderland boss Bruce is the last straw.
There was talk of protests and even season ticket cancellations well before the 58-year-old was officially unveiled as Benitez’s successor on Wednesday morning.
Gascoigne, however, believes it would be unfair to write off Bruce, an affable Geordie who has labelled the Newcastle job a dream come true, before he is given the chance to prove himself in this most scorching of hotseats.
“Give Steve Bruce a chance, let him play the first few games. They’ve got to get behind Steve Bruce, they’ve got to. He’s played with the best,” Gascoigne said of a former Manchester United captain.
“I wouldn’t say he’s the easy option, he’s been around and proven himself. I think he’s a good appointment.”
Gascoigne did acknowledge that Ashley simply must back his new manager with the funds required to improve a squad who finished comfortably above the relegation zone in both of their Premier League seasons with Benitez at the helm.
But with The Mail claiming that the much-maligned owner is willing to invest a club-record £36 million fee on Hoffenheim striker Joelinton, maybe Ashley has realised at long last that he simply has to put his hand in his pocket.
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