The former Manchester United teammates previously worked together at Hull City from 2012 until Bruce left the club in the summer.
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce has backed new goalkeeping coach Gary Walsh to get the best out of Pierluigi Gollini and the club’s other shot-stoppers after reuniting with him in the West Midlands.
Bruce was speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Friday night’s game at Brighton & Hove Albion after making Walsh the latest addition to his backroom staff earlier this month following the recent appointments of Stephen Clemence and Ian Atkins as first-team coach and chief scout, respectively.
The pair previously played together at Manchester United between 1987 and 1995 before later linking up again at Hull City when Walsh was already coaching the keepers at the time Bruce took charge of the club in the summer of 2012.
“I was fortunate enough to inherit Gary when I took over at Hull,” Bruce told reporters at his press conference. “The one thing that strikes you about his straight away is his attitude to work. The goalkeepers will be made to work because that’s the way he demands.”
Walsh was a highly-rated prospect during his early days at United, briefly becoming their first-choice keeper at only 19, but he was subsequently struck by a series of injuries over the following years which prevented him from ever fulfilling his full potential.
He still went on to have some success at Middlesbrough and Bradford City after leaving Old Trafford before later retiring with Wigan Athletic in 2006, but Bruce believes he could have achieved a lot more.
“I’ve known Gary a long, long time and I think that’s always important,” the former United captain added at his press conference. “He was the up-and-coming young superstar before Beckham and Scholes, Gary Walsh was going to be the biggest and best.
“Unfortunately he picked up and injury early in his career and it’s fair to say he didn’t go on to hit the heights that he would have done.
“He’s been around the block, he’s played at the very highest level and he’s turned himself into a really good goalkeeping coach and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to get him in the building.”
As well as Gollini, Villa have a host of promising keepers on their books for Walsh to work with, including teenage trio Matija Sarkic, Viktor Johansson and Emmanuel Idem.
Former Norwich City youngster Jed Steer also went into this season as the club’s third-choice stopper behind Gollini and backup Mark Bunn, but he is now facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering an Achilles injury in training last week.
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