Steve Bruce: My mum would have cried at me taking Newcastle job - my dad would have questioned it

Steve Bruce has admitted his dad would have questioned his decision to take on the challenge of replacing Rafa Benitez as Newcastle United manager and his mum would have just burst into tears.

Bruce was close tears himself when asked what they would have said to him, a sudden wave of emotion as he remembered his parents who passed away last year.

“My mum would have burst into tears, she would have been so proud, said Bruce, who will not be allowed to stand on the touchline against West Ham in the Premier League Asia Trophy as he is on a tourist visa in China. “And my dad would have said ‘are you sure you know what you’re doing son?’

“For all the family I’ve still got in the North East, I’m sure they will be as proud as punch. For any Geordie, if you can’t manage to play for Newcastle, then to get back and manage them it’s something special.

“Through all of this, I just thought I’ve got to go and have a crack, that was my over riding thought. No matter how difficult, no matter how much s*** I’m going to have to deal with, I had to have a crack at it.

“I honestly think whoever came in to replace Rafa, they were going to be big shoes to fill. I’m under no illusions, he is very, very talented, he is very, very good at what he does.

“I can’t take that personally, the only thing that can improve it is results. The atmosphere in the city is a result of Rafa leaving. There is naturally disappointment that the club have lost a very talented manager, but I can’t change that. We aren’t all Champions League winners, but I will do my utmost to keep the club going forward.”

And he pointed out, this isn’t the first time he has been told he is not good enough for Newcastle.

“They rejected me as a player. Newcastle said I wasn’t going to be big or strong enough to make the grade, Burnley said the same.

“Most people said the same to be fair. That early rejection was the biggest kick, I was 12 or 13, I was fighting against it then and I’m fighting against it again now because I’m still not good enough it seems.”

Bruce was warned against taking the jobs by several of his friends, including Newcastle legend Alan Shearer, but revealed he was told by plenty of others that he had to accept it, including former England captain David Beckham.

“Alan said no, no, no, I said yes, yes, yes,” Bruce explained. “I said to him, come on Al… he’s a big friend and he’s a big Newcastle fan at the end of it, but I had no hesitation.

“I’ve had tonnes of people telling me I had to take it. I don’t want to mention names, but David Beckham was one of them. I’ll have to show my daughter that text message.

“As soon as I got the phone call, I’d heard I was on their list, but when it became real there was no hesitation.

Asked about how things would work under Ashley, Bruce rubbished claims he would not be in control of transfers.

“There has been some nonsense said, but I’m nobody’s puppet,” he said. “Not Mike’s, not anyone’s.

“I went to see him [Ashley] and everybody was really honest about where we are, what we want to do. What he expects and what we are going to try and achieve together. It was very straight forward, it was a very good meeting and it obviously went ok because he gave me the job.

“Recruitment, yes that has insulted me, the things that have been said. Let me tell you, if I thought I couldn’t have control of transfers, then of course, I wouldn’t be doing it. I wouldn’t do it at all.

“With the recruitment guys, that’s how football clubs work. You have to have a team of people behind you, who give you the list of names that I have the final say on. You have to rely on your recruitment team, I’ve always done that, but you have to have the final say on who you are going to bring in.”

Bruce’s main priority will be to sign attacking players, but he could not offer an update on the club’s proposed £35m deal to sign Brazilian striker Joelinto from Hoffenheim.

“We’ve got to do a lot in a short space of time,” he added. “We’re going to need at least three or four in.”