Steve Bruce has suggested he should be afforded some credit for Sunderland's recent resurgence under new manager Martin O'Neill.
Axed manager believes he was driven out by Geordie roots
Steve Bruce has suggested he should be afforded some credit for Sunderland's recent resurgence under new manager Martin O'Neill.
Bruce was axed as Black Cats boss in the wake of a 2-1 home defeat by Wigan at the end of November when a large section of the Stadium of Light crowd turned on their boss.
The Northumberland-born 52-year-old, who grew up supporting the Black Cats' local rivals Newcastle, believes the vitriol of that occasion made his position untenable for owner Ellis Short.
O'Neill was swiftly appointed in his stead, with the former Aston Villa, Celtic, Leicester and Wycombe boss transforming the fortunes of a team who looked set for a relegation battle.
Using the squad of players he inherited from Bruce, with only Wayne Bridge and Sotirios Kyrgiakos arriving in January, the new man on Wearside has lifted Sunderland to within two points of seventh in the table, while also guiding them to the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Headline stealers
"Martin O'Neill is currently getting the pats on the back for what he has achieved. He's a good manager and he has undoubtedly motivated the players," Bruce told
The Chronicle.
"But what is now being seen is the players I brought in bedding down and proving how good they are.
"James McClean and Stephane Sessegnon are the headline stealers but we signed them, of course.
"I'm genuinely pleased for Sunderland and for Martin. This is a big club and it ought to have success.
"However, North East football is different to everywhere else because the fans are so passionate and demanding after going so long without trophies."
Bruce went on to suggest that much of his downfall was due to his links to the Black Cats' bitter local rivals, and feels that the 1-0 defeat to the Magpies in their first home game of the season was the beginning of the end for his relationship with some supporters.
Brutal
"I must admit that being a Geordie came back to haunt me," he said. "The hatred I suffered was unbelievable. It was brutal, it really was.
"In fairness it was a minority of Sunderland fans who abused me but it was way over the top and very hurtful. I can't change my upbringing. I am who I am and proud of it. But I paid a big price.
"I feel I never recovered in some fans' thinking from our 1-0 home defeat to Newcastle at the beginning of this season. We had gained a terrific draw with Liverpool at Anfield but came home and lost to Newcastle through a mistake by our keeper on a Ryan Taylor free-kick. After that I couldn't stop the bandwagon.
"When we went on to lose to Wigan that escalated the chaos and I was sacked.
"I just think the owner saw the hatred that was directed towards me from the terraces and thought I would never recover from it. Even if I had won the next six games some people would never have forgiven me for being a Geordie."
