Steve Bruce - competitive record (all comps) |
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Games: 904 Wins: 348 Draws: 227 Losses: 329 |
Win percentage: 38.5% |
New Newcastle manager Steve Bruce says he wants to "prove the doubters wrong" after his appointment was criticised by supporters.
Some fans have threatened to boycott the club after ex-Sunderland manager Bruce succeeded Rafael Benitez.
Benitez left last month saying the club "did not share his vision".
"I know in some people's eyes I'm not Rafa. I understand there are big shoes to fill. But I'll give it everything I possibly can," Bruce told nufcTV.
"I knew it was going to be difficult - the easy thing would have been to say no. I just hope that people will show the respect, which obviously you only gain by getting a few results and doing the job, but hopefully that will go hand in hand."
Steve Bruce - competitive record (all comps) |
---|
Games: 904 Wins: 348 Draws: 227 Losses: 329 |
Win percentage: 38.5% |
Bruce, who was born near Newcastle and was a boyhood Magpies fan, said he could not say no to the job a second time having turned down the chance to succeed Sir Bobby Robson while Birmingham manager in 2004.
"Back a few years ago, I regretted it. I regretted it and it lingered around me for years, when Sir Bobby left," he said. "To be given the opportunity again, it was simply something I had to take, I had to grasp it."
Lascelles asks for fans to stay positive
Meanwhile, Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles has called criticism of the club "frustrating", saying that players and fans must support new boss Bruce.
"It is frustrating because [the reaction to news] is never positive," Lascelles said after Wednesday's 4-0 defeat by Wolves in Nanjing.
"We're always being told we're not good enough or we're not doing something right [as a club].
"You need to look forward, we've got a great manager coming in and we need to remain positive."
Lascelles also addressed recent negative press coverage that has suggested Newcastle could struggle next season and focused on their transfer activity, with forwards Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon leaving the club - Perez signing for Leicester for £30m and Rondon departing at the end of his loan spell.
"As players we try to ignore all that and try to work hard and do the right things, that is all we can do, we can't control anything else," Lascelles added.
"It's going to be a new challenge, a whole new formation, tactics and instructions to what we've been used to the last few years."
Newcastle's Premier League campaign begins at home to Arsenal on 11 August.