Steve Bruce has officially been appointed as the new manager of Newcastle, and it has not gone down well amongst the club's supporters. Hoping their team would recruit a big name to replace the outgoing Rafael Benitez, Bruce's arrival has been widely criticised.
With the club having lost a couple of key players from last season, their prospects heading into the Premier League campaign look bleak. Bruce will be the man tasked with keeping them in the division, but it will be no easy feat.
The man himself is aware of the reaction his appointment has received. Speaking to the Newcastle Chronicle, he said he is out to prove the doubters wrong.
I know in some peoples' eyes, I'm not Rafa and I know there are big shoes to fill but believe me, I'll give it everything I possibly can and hopefully I prove the doubters wrong.
Bruce knows the task that is at hand, both on and off the pitch. He was apparently advised by Alan Shearer to turn down the job.
However, after rejecting his boyhood club once earlier in his career, he couldn't do it again.
The easy thing for me to say would have been no. But at my stage of life and career - and back a few years ago, I regretted it.
That lingered around me for years when Sir Bobby left. So to be given the opportunity again - it’s something simply I had to take.
I had to grasp it - I knew it would be difficult.
As I said the easy thing would to have been to say no but I just hope that people show the respect which you obviously only gain by getting a results and doing the job, but hopefully that will go hand in hand.
The former Manchester United player has a thankless job on his hands, and despite his good intentions, it looks likely to end in heartbreak for all concerned.
