Steve Bruce has copped a lot of stick from Newcastle fans since he was appointed as head coach last week, and his job to win fans over is going to be difficult, to say the least.
His comments at the press conference unveiling record signing Joelinton will have many fans not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
A lot of what he said will have resonated with supporters, particularly his revelation of the “positive conversation” regarding Isaac Hayden’s future, and his unequivocal “that won’t happen” line on the likelihood of Sean Longstaff being sold to Manchester United.
But a couple of the things he said will also concern fans.
His comments on Mike Ashley are likely to make the most headlines today, with the Chronicle quoting him from his press conference as saying he is “too long in the tooth” to be Ashley’s, or anyone’s “yes man”.
Bruce denies Ashley will be pulling his strings
At any other time, at any other club, these types of comments would be music to fans’ ears – but this is now, and it is Newcastle United.
Adding to those comments, he said: “I’ve heard it said that I’m a puppet or not in charge of transfers or what have you, but I can only report on how he’s been with myself and he’s been straight down the line in the conversations I’ve had.”
Fans will immediately read that, and claim that Bruce is already playing the PR machine for Ashley to the public.
He also claimed the easy thing to do would have been to say no to the job, but this being his boyhood club meant he felt he had to take it on.
Fans, of course, point to the fact that any real fan of the club would never work under the current regime, and the restrictions and parameters they place on the role.
But, if Bruce can back up his claims of being his own man, bring in players, and most importantly, persuade Hayden and Longstaff to stay on Tyneside, he may yet get some of the dissenting voices on-side.
It is results on the pitch that will ultimately determine his success or failure, and with a tough run of opening fixtures, he has to hope he gets some big wins early on, as a disastrous start will have a whole city shouting: “I told you so!”.
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