Sunderland boss Steve Bruce insisted he will never quit despite the home fans turning on him during Saturday's 2-1 home defeat by Wigan.
Sunderland boss vows to battle on despite abuse from fans
Shell-shocked Sunderland boss Steve Bruce insisted he will never walk away from his post despite the home fans turning on him during Saturday's 2-1 home defeat by Wigan.
The Latics ended a run of just one point from nine games with a shock success at the Stadium of Light, courtesy of substitute Franco Di Santo's injury-time winner.
Some Black Cats supporters were already calling for Bruce's head with the score at 1-1, and the vitriol pouring down from the stands in his direction at the final whistle was simply staggering.
Chants of 'Bruce out' and 'You fat Geordie *******, get out of our club' reverberated around the ground, with boos and jeers sending the manager and his players scurrying down the tunnel.
But Bruce insists he will not walk away and said: "I've never given up on anything in football. My intention is certainly not to walk away or quit, that's not in my nature.
"I can't help where I was born, I've got to live with that, but when you are up against it like we are at the moment you have to stick together and try and see it through and try and turn them (the fans) round.
"It borders on abuse. When it gets like it is, it's disappointing to hear, but I'm a resilient so-and-so and I've had stick all my life and come through it and I'm determined to see it through.
"But you can only do that with a few results. And unfortunately, at home in particular, we haven't had enough victories to appease the public, which is your first priority as a manager.
"As far as my future is concerned, that's up to others, but I have no intention of walking away or quitting. I'm more determined than ever to see it through, I don't think we're that far away."
Gifted
The Black Cats had been gifted an early lead as Sebastian Larsson fired home following Ali Al-Habsi's blunder, but then could not find another way past the Wigan goalkeeper, with Phil Bardsley in particular guilty of one shocking miss.
Jordi Gomez levelled from the spot with a controversial penalty just before the break, with Bruce claiming referee Kevin Friend should not have pointed to the spot when Victor Moses went down under Larsson's challenge.
With time running out and the hosts pressing for a winner, Keiren Westwood and Wes Brown contrived to give the ball away to James McArthur, who set up fellow substitute Di Santo to roll home.
And while former Latics boss Bruce was less than impressed by the efforts of his goalkeeper and centre-back, he feels it is the club's inability to convert their scoring opportunities which is the true Achilles heel.
Bad mistake
He told
Sky Sports News: "I can't keep coming out here and saying we've created enough chances to win two games of football, but that's the way it looked to me.
"Towards the end everyone has got frustrated, edgy and nervous because we're not taking those chances. And if you don't, you can get punished like we have at the finish.
"Wes Brown has been terrific since he walked through the door here. He's made a bad mistake, he knows that, the goalkeeper has made a mistake too by passing it back out to him.
"That's the nature of us, we're gung-ho at times, but we're trying to win the football match and we've made a mistake.
"But the big thing for me is that we keep making the same one, which is producing the chances, playing some good stuff and we keep missing them. If we keep doing that, we're going to have afternoons like we have today.
"I'm not going to blame him, but the referee has made a bad decision, it's not a penalty. From where I'm looking it looks harsh, and it gets them back into the game.
"Then that anxiety transcends itself onto the pitch, but still we had enough in the second half when we should score. Unfortunately, it's too often I am coming here and saying the same thing."
