Steve Bruce, the current manager of Blackpool, has defended his coaching record following criticisms from former Newcastle United striker Dwight Gayle. Bruce is the only one to have managed more than 1,050 games in his career and 97 of those came while in charge of Newcastle United from 2019 to 2021. He fired back at Gayle’s allegations which attacked his player management and tacticality. Bruce highlighted his track record as a successful manager and called Gayle’s comments disappointing.
Bruce’s response followed upon the heels of Gayle stating in an interview that Bruce, while at Newcastle United, had spent too much time on shape. Gayle blasted Bruce as unable to make necessary tactical adjustments. She contended that Bruce focused too heavily on the “game by game” approach that sought immediate success over developing the arsenal of a championship caliber team. Gayle disclosed that he and his then-teammate Matt Ritchie went to see Bruce over and over again. They demanded more than just tactical improvements week after week and month after month.
"He was OK," Gayle stated. "I felt that he didn't spend enough time working on a lot of things with us. Perhaps he was trying to go game by game rather than developing us as a team. I think we could've improved a lot of things."
Bruce justified his approach by pointing to his deep level of experience. He was similarly withering about Gayle’s contribution during his Newcastle days, specifically mentioning a glaring miss during the FA Cup quarter-final with Manchester City in 2020. Bruce pointed out that Gayle's performance in crucial games was not up to the mark, which possibly affected the team's outcomes.
"I'll let other people make their minds up who are a bit more established than Dwight ever was," Bruce remarked during an interview with BBC Radio Lancashire.
Bruce further addressed Gayle's comments about him "chucking a few of the boys under the bus" during a match against Manchester City. He admitted that mature players took some difficult hits. He argued that these predetermined decisions are what you need to make when running a team through a gauntlet of a three-game week.
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