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Kevin Nolan asks Steve Bruce what his plans are for Sunday’s boycott at the Arsenal match

5 years ago
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Kevin Nolan has been interviewing Steve Bruce ahead of the new season.

Working for BBC Radio 5 Live, Nolan quizzed the Newcastle United about the unrest at the club amongst the fanbase.

Kevin Nolan posing the question: There is a planned boycott at the weekend, what’s your sort of plans for that?’

When previously asked about Newcastle fans protesting, Steve Bruce has been very dismissive. However, maybe he has given it some thought because he was a lot more conciliatory this time.

The Head Coach replying about fans who will boycott the Arsenal match: ‘Well they are entitled. Listen, they pay their hard earned money and of course they are entitled to boycott.’

Steve Bruce once again saying that he wants to be judged on results, which is of course what he will be in the longer-term. However, when you give the job to somebody who no other Premier League club would have considered this summer, the bottom line is that it makes it so much harder for the new man, especially when Mike Ashley insists on the job title of Head Coach, making crystal clear that Steve Bruce has no power/authority when it comes to transfers.

Kevin Nolan has been very active in talking about Newcastle United this summer and in a series of interviews has been very pro-Mike Ashley, particularly around the time when it was widely reported he was set to be assistant manager if Sam Allardyce took the job, only for Fat Sham to turn it down.

In interviews, Kevin Nolan coming out with comments such as ‘With Mike, you can’t fault him’ and ‘He has spent the money, Mike Ashley’, when talking about the NUFC owner.

Also, very interesting to look back at what Kevin Nolan had to say last month as Steve Bruce was just about to be appointed:

“I think now the sort of glamour of managing Newcastle has gone.

“You are not going to get a Jose Mourinho, who is out there.

“I think Sam Allardyce came out last week and said he’d turned down an opportunity to go back.

“So, when you have got people of the calibre of Sam, who has been known to be the one to keep teams in the Premier League.

“Then…and he’s turning them down, I think we are now in that sort of next step where Steve Bruce is the best one for the job.”

Not exactly a glowing reference from Kevin Nolan…especially alongside claims that Steve Bruce was Newcastle’s 11th choice.

Considering he has never won anything in his managerial career and nothing suggested that he was the right man for the job, as well as having to work under Mike Ashley and having only the power to train and pick the team, if Steve Bruce somehow makes a success out of this job, especially with the chaos he has walked into, then he will deserve any credit that comes his way.

Steve Bruce interviewed by Kevin Nolan on BBC Radio 5 Live:

Kevin Nolan:

“There is a planned boycott at the weekend, what’s your sort of plans for that?”

Steve Bruce:

“Well they are entitled.

“Listen, they pay their hard earned money and of course they are entitled to boycott.

“Mine would be, like any manager going in, just judge me over a little bit of time.

“Whoever was standing here with Rafa (gone)…Rafa is an extremely talented manager, he was adored by the supporters here.

“Whoever was going to fill in his shoes, was going to find it difficult because of the circumstances and what have you.

“So I was under no illusion that that’s what I was walking into but hopefully, quietly, with the addition of what we have brought in…and of course we are up against it now with the results.

“The results now are the big thing, which any manager was going to be judged on.

“But certainly for the players, they have been terrific over the last two or three weeks.

“It was important we hit the ground running with them and there has been a great group to work with.

“I hope they can now get a result at the weekend.”

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