Steve Bruce shares who he tipped for Newcastle job as well as Eddie Howe

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Ex-Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce has revealed that he recommended Eddie Howe and Steven Gerrard to the club before he vacated the job.

Steve Bruce was in charge of Newcastle United from 2019 to 2021, and successfully kept the club in the Premier League, but was removed from the position soon after the new owners took over at St James’ Park. The Magpies have since gone from strength to strength under the stewardship of Eddie Howe.

Bruce himself thought that Howe would prove to be the right man for the job. Speaking on the Business of Sport podcast, Bruce said: “They asked me who I would recommend and I did recommend Eddie…I recommended Steven Gerrard too.”

Since taking charge, Howe has led the club back into the Champions League, and will be keen to progress further next season. A title challenge can’t be too far from his thoughts at this stage. It’ll certainly be something the club expect to see within the next few years. However, they need to prove last season wasn’t just a flash in the pan first.

Newcastle dodge Gerrard bullet

How Gerrard might have fared in the Newcastle hot seat is an entirely different matter. At the time of Bruce’s exit from St James’ Park, the former Liverpool captain was still in charge of Rangers, and had guided the Scottish club to a league title in the previous campaign. The 43-year-old was highly thought of at the time, and given Newcastle ultimately went with Howe, they probably did give Gerrard serious consideration too, as he was Bruce’s other suggestion.

Since then, however, his stock as a manager has fallen. Following a difficult tenure at Aston Villa, Gerrard has recently agreed to take charge of Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq.

Newcastle fans will be glad that the club decided to go with Howe instead of the former Liverpool and England skipper. They will view Gerrard’s subsequent career trajectory as a bullet dodged. 

It is also interesting to see how amicable Bruce’s dismissal in fact was. The 62-year-old coach recognised the fact that things weren’t working out for him at Newcastle, and that the fans were ready for a change in the dugout.

Bruce added: “I had to say to them, ‘you might have to take me out of the equation’. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to say, but I realised it was best for the club because everything was euphoric around it, the only negative was me.”