Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce has finally made his opinion known on fan protests and planned boycotts this season, and supporters are furious with what he had to say.
Toon fans have long been protesting the ownership of Mike Ashley and many plan to boycott or demonstrate during the first game of the season against Arsenal.
Yet remarkably, Bruce still seems unsure if fans are truly upset.
Speaking to talkSPORT Radio in an interview last night, Bruce was dismissive of fan protests and expects unrest to go away come the start of the season.
Bruce told the show: “I saw a so-called demonstration the other day, there was 12 people involved in it.
“It sometimes can be blown out of proportion.
“I’m convinced that come the first game of the season, the supporters will be like they always are, right behind the team.”
And if that wasn’t infuriating enough, the new manager also made some positive comments about Ashley, the very reason supporters are protesting:
“Mike has offered his support, that can only be a good thing for the football club and to move it forward.
“I think that’s the biggest challenge, to take the club forward, it was only in the Championship two years ago.”
It’s a naïve comment from Bruce, especially given most NUFC fans will tell you that all the club has done is move backwards under Ashley.
But what’s most upsetting about these comments is that they come just days after he told the BBC he would not be Ashley’s ‘yes man’.
Bruce has had to take plenty of accusations from fans that he is a puppet for Ashley, and this interview won’t help the situation.
It’s no surprise of course that the manager has shown support for the owner, especially given he’s had none of the problems former manager Rafa Benitez had.
Benitez received minimal backing in transfer windows during his tenure, but Bruce has already splashed out £40m on new striker Joelinton.
The main thing that has angered fans though were his comments on protests, which seem to ridicule and downplay the current negativity around the club.
Not only is this attitude an insult to upset supporters, but it also contradicts visible evidence of unrest in recent weeks, namely around 12,000 season tickets still being unsold two weeks ago.
He may not have had much anyway, but Bruce has definitely lost the goodwill of many NUFC fans this morning.
Toon fans react to Bruce comments
https://twitter.com/burns_burns251/status/1156120207607382016
https://twitter.com/Garwain/status/1156124844016246784
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