Chris Wilder would ‘love a crack’ at the Newcastle United job if Mike Ashley decided to part ways with Steve Bruce, according to media speculation.
According to Chronicle Live, the former Sheffield United manager would be an applicant if the Newcastle managerial role becomes available.
The Blades were a revelation under Wilder in their first season back in the top-flight and finished ninth, just a few points off the European places.
But after five years in the role and the club bottom of the Premier League and effectively 13 points from safety with 10 games of the season left, Wilder decided to leave in March last year.
Would Newcastle be any different for Wilder?
Sheffield United did suffer from second season syndrome in the Premier League, but there had been major issues behind the scenes with Sheffield-born Wilder and club owner Prince Abdullah (BBC Sport).
The owner reportedly felt that he had provided funds for new players over the past two seasons with limited success.
However, Wilder felt this did not go far enough to strengthen his squad to the level required, which led to further friction between the pair.
When the club opted not to bring in new players in January, Wilder knew there was a major issue given the Blades’ awful start to the season.
If Wilder ever came to Newcastle, he wouldn’t be encountering anything different under the stewardship of Mike Ashley unless the aforementioned takeover eventually squeezes through.
He would have to deal with limited funds and get the best out of a squad that would be very similar to the quality Sheffield United possessed.
Where does Bruce currently stand?
According to Chronicle Live, Ashley knows the only way he could part ways with Bruce would be to pay almost all of the manager’s contractual agreement which he agreed in July 2019.
Ashely isn’t going to want to part ways with large sums of money to sack Bruce and his coaches Steve Agnew and Stephen Clemence.
Bruce believes that the situation will improve after the international break with key players Martin Dubravka, Jonjo Shelvey and Callum Wilson returning.
But the club have failed to win any of their opening seven games, conceded the joint most goals in the league and sit in the relegation zone. You would think that Bruce would be feeling the heat from the boardroom?
However, Bruce’s position was never reportedly going to come under scrutiny regardless of the result against Wolves.
It has been claimed that Bruce still hasn’t lost the dressing room, but there are some murmurs arising that the likes of Fabian Schar and Ryan Fraser are becoming increasingly frustrated at not getting an opportunity to impress.
It’s just seven wins in 37 games, and as Watford only showed yesterday, if Bruce was probably at any other club he may have been long gone.
Wilder would be a huge upgrade on Bruce, but it seems like we’re a long way away from that scenario even remotely being considered a possibility at Newcastle.
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