OPINION
So, Newcastle have finally landed their man.
At 9.30am on Wednesday morning the club’s official Twitter page announced that Steve Bruce had been appointed as the new manager, following the departure of Rafa Benitez.
Newcastle United can now announce that Steve Bruce has been appointed as the club's new head coach.
More here: https://t.co/BTjZACgqtb #NUFC pic.twitter.com/IvhafgljYf
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) July 17, 2019
In his first interview as Newcastle manager Bruce said, “There is a huge challenge ahead of us, but it’s one that my staff and I are ready for.”
Newcastle fans will certainly agree with the first part of this statement and the challenge starts this weekend as Bruce is set to take charge of his first game against either Man City or West Ham.
According to Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie, Bruce and his assistants are flying straight out to Shanghai to hook up with the Newcastle squad on their pre-season tour.
Season has started badly
Bruce will need to do something dramatic after Newcastle were hammered 4-0 earlier today by Wolves in their first pre-season game.
It was only a friendly but it’s obvious that Newcastle need new players this summer, probably at least six to be competitive, but definitely some new attacking options after losing top scorers Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon.
Yoshinori Muto led the line against Wolves but he’s only scored once since he was signed from Mainz last summer and he’s not the answer for the club going forward.
Boycott on the cards
Bruce also has a mountain to climb to persuade Newcastle fans that he’s the man to take the club forward and not just a yes-man to owner Mike Ashley.
Fan group Empty for Ashley is already calling for a boycott of the first game of the Premier League season against Arsenal [the Sun].
Joe Halliday from Empty for Ashley said: “Steve Bruce is an unambitious appointment by an unambitious owner. To go from a world-class manager in Rafa Benitez, who brought stability and unity to the club – to Steve Bruce, who frankly wouldn’t get a job at any other Premier League side right now, in the space of six weeks is beyond disappointing.”
There could be legal problems for Newcastle ahead, too, after it transpired that Newcastle and Sheffield Wednesday haven’t agreed on compensation yet.
Given all of this, ‘huge challenge’ seems like an understatement and while a good result in the third-place play-off game in the Premier League Asia Trophy on Saturday won’t make Bruce’s journey much easier, another big defeat could see things get worse.
The toxic atmosphere surrounding the club isn’t going to help to attract players and Bruce needs to start turning that around straight away, starting with a win this weekend.