Steve Bruce opens up on Newcastle exit and discusses top-four prospects

In the third part of a Ladbrokes: Fanzone exclusive, Steve Bruce gave us the inside track on his spell as Newcastle manager and what they need to finish in the top four again.

You can also read part one in which Bruce expresses his interest in the Republic of Ireland vacancy and his thoughts on Manchester United in part two.

After the takeover, the only negative thing left at the club was myself

I’d like to think my relationship with Newcastle was OK, and that I left on good terms with the people in charge. I was asked for my advice by the current owners, and I put Eddie [Howe] forward as someone who I thought would be a good fit for them.

With the euphoria of the takeover, the only negative thing that was left in the club was myself. For both parties, it was important things went the way they did. Like they say, a new broom always sweeps clean.

The best thing they’ve done – and fair play to the owners for this – is they’ve put the right people in place like the manager, like Dan Ashworth and Darren Eales at the very top. And they couldn’t have asked for a better couple of years.

Where they’re at right now, in terms of their recruitment, it’s been incredible. Every player that they’ve brought in has had a positive effect, starting with Kieran Trippier, who has led by example since his first day. The goalkeeper, Nick Pope, has been wonderful.

That list could go on and on. Whoever you pick out since the takeover, you’d say they’ve had a positive impact. They’ve turned Newcastle into a really, really good team.

Keeping the club up means I did my job at Newcastle

I’m a Newcastle fan, I’m a Newcastle boy, I don’t regret anything. My aim, back in my day, was to keep Newcastle – with the budget we had – in the Premier League.

We’re dealing with a totally different ball game here, now. We’re talking about a team whose ambition is to be playing in the Champions League.

It’s a much better job to be in when you’re chasing the top four, rather than trying to stay clear of the bottom four that’s for sure!

Leaving Newcastle, and the way things went, it wasn’t easy. But let’s be fair and clear, we’re only talking about a minority here.

It wasn’t easy. It was difficult at times and I believe it got personal. And that’s when you’ve got to do something… when it starts impacting your family, you’ve got to do something about it. And when the new regime came in, it was the first thing I said to them.

It wasn’t nice. But I’m a Geordie, I’m a Newcastle fan and I got to manage the club. I’m one of – what – 60 people in the history of the club to manage it? In my opinion, I did my job.

Because, if Newcastle would have been in the Championship – which is horrible to think about, but it’s what we were flirting with – then the takeover might never have happened. Who knows?

We weren’t exciting to watch, but I wouldn’t have changed anything

Would I change anything about my time with the club? Look, we finished 12th and 13th in the Premier League. I knew we weren’t very exciting to watch. But, for what we had, and the way we went about it, I’m happy with the job I did there.

I had the start, the nucleus, of it. Joelinton, you know, I took the number nine off him. I played him, not in a midfield three, but on the left, or the right. That conversation with Big Joe was never easy, because that number nine shirt is such an iconic jersey.

What we thought at the time, myself and Lee [Charnley] was that we’d buy one player at a time, rather than two or three, because that was the budget we had.

So Callum Wilson, Joe Willock, Joelinton…Allan Saint-Maximin was another one. Rather than being able to bring in four or five at a time, we identified one area where we just tried to make the team that little bit better. Would I change anything? Not really. I think we did our jobs, in difficult circumstances, and that’s what we were there for.

The one thing Newcastle have to be mindful of in top-four race

You have to say that Newcastle have been brilliant in the last couple of weeks, especially when you consider the amount of injuries they’ve had to deal with lately.

I looked at their bench the other day, and they’re missing so many key players. You bring those back into the mix and all of a sudden, they’re right back in it in that race. You can’t go for sustained periods with just your starting XI. They’ve done fantastically well, all things considered.

If they can stay relatively injury free in the second half of the season, then they’ve got a fantastic chance of going far in the league, just like they did last year.

They’ve got an excellent manager and they’ve recruited well. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if they’re back in the top four come the end of the season, but they must have a little bit more luck when it comes to injuries, that’s for sure.