STEVE BRUCE is on Fergie time once more as he starts back as a boss – by order of the great man himself.
The former Manchester United skipper takes charge of his first game tomorrow with Blackpool after almost two years out of the game.
Since his appointment 11 days ago, the 63-year-old has been deluged with messages – some, he laughs, asking : “Are you bonkers?”
But the one that meant the most to him came from Sir Alex Ferguson.
He reveals: “Thursday morning the phone rang at half past six.
“I didn’t know who it was, didn’t have a clue, because the screen came up showing a no-caller ID, so I thought I’d leave it.
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“Then all of a sudden a text message comes through from Sir Alex: ‘Congratulations, delighted for you’ etc, etc,etc.
“’And by the way. You should be on the way to work’. And that’s at 6.40 am.
“Typical him, some things never change. He is what he is.
“At Old Trafford he was always in first for training, no matter how successful he was, just ready for another day and another challenge.
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“He was incredible and still is. His work ethic was unbelievable and he’s always been such an inspiration.
Sir Alex changed my life. He gave me an opportunity which I cherished.
Steve Bruce
“He made me captain of Manchester United for five years. I’ll always be glad he had such a major influence on my life and career.”
Yet Bruce admits that having been sacked by West Brom, the 11th club he had managed before those two years away, he was pining for to get that career going again.
The fact that he has now picked up the reigns again, even in the EFL’s third tier at a club that hasn’t won any of its first four games has rejuvenated him.
Bruce has never managed below the Championship and twice took Birmingham City as well as Hull City into the Premier League.
Amongst other club he took charge of was boyhood club Newcastle United over two years which is why, he knows, some of his pals questioned his decision to step down the ladder.
But he explains: “After West Brom I did a lot of travelling with my missus Janet.
“We’ve been all around the world, everything that we wanted to do, seen what we wanted to see.
“And yeah, I’ll miss that part. I’ll miss Barbados in January that’s for sure when the wind’s blowing hard around here.
“And I’m just as sure Janet will too.
“In the first year I just wanted to have a look at it from the outside although there were five or six opportunities then but I forced myself to stay away.
“But the last six months the lack of that routine of managing a team, the buzz of Saturday match day, was getting to me.
“Whatever it is – a bug or a drug – you need it. Retirement wasn’t for me just yet.
“I need a purpose to get out of bed in the morning and all I’ve had in my life is this, really. Football.”
What we know about the ‘new’ Old Trafford
MANCHESTER UNITED plan to build a new stadium rather than redevelop Old Trafford.
The decision was made after a number of fact-finding missions to other stadiums including the Bernabeu and Nou Camp.
The cost of the project is expected to be a staggering £2billion.
A capacity of 100,000 is expected.
It is felt that a club of United’s standing should have a new state-of-the-art facility.
The new stadium will be built on land adjacent to the Red Devils’ current home.
United are looking to not only build a stadium but regenerate the area of Trafford where the ground will stand.
They plan to KEEP Old Trafford rather than demolish it, and use it as a second venue.
They will scale it down to a 30,000-seater that can then be used for the women’s team and academy matches.
That would mean the history remains with statues and the Munich clock and memorial plaque all most likely staying in their current positions.
The club consulted with 30,000 fans about what to do and believe there is roughly a 50-50 split on staying or moving.
Old Trafford has been United’s home since 1910.
The target is for completion by 2030.
That text from Ferguson a couple of days ago certainly found him out of bed early – even if he wasn’t quite on his way to work – and a little long in the tooth or not that buzz is back.
A home clash with Exeter City marks his return and he adds : “Most of the messages I got were positive, saying : ‘Good for you. Why not?
“Yes, Blackpool are League One but after speaking to the owner it was like, ‘Why not?’ too.
“I haven’t got any more ego left in me and so many of my close mates understood that in the last six months I really wanted this life again.
“I didn’t know I would be working back at the coal face again but we’ve got a squad that I believe can compete with anybody in the division.
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“The plan is to get this club back in the Championship.
“If I didn’t think we could do that – then what WOULD be the point?”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
