Steve Bruce seems to have done enough to convince fans he should keep his job as Sunderland near their best top-flight finish for almost a decade.
Steve Bruce: Job should be safe. For now.
It wasn’t too long ago Sunderland were on a run of no wins in nine games, and relegation was starting to look like a real possibility. The team were constantly met with a chorus of boos at the end of each game, many directed at Bruce, who fans felt should go.
However, wins at home against Wigan and away at Bolton have steered the side clear of the drop-zone, despite a spate of injuries which saw the club playing without a striker, and now it seems the consensus is that Bruce is the right man for the job.
Ex-Sunderland captain Michael Gray said: “Up until February everything was fantastic. The so-called big guns came here and we gave them all a run for their money. It was just February and March, maybe April, when it all came unstuck. That’s what we need to put right next season.
“I think it’s too soon for Bruce to go. If you go back to how well the team were playing until February, a lot of that was down to him.
“I don’t think anyone would find it easy to cope with the amount of injuries we’ve had.”
Gray’s sentiments were echoed by his former Sunderland teammate Nicky Summerbee.
Summerbee said: “I think they’ll be a bit disappointed with how its ended. If they’d kept on playing like they did in the first half of the season they could’ve broken into the top five or six.
“Bruce should stay. He’s building a squad and should be given time to do that.”
However, while Bruce may have won over some of the ex-players, there are fans who would still rather see him go.
Season-ticket holder Adam Slack said: “The start of the season was fantastic, but yet again we’ve went on a really long run without a win. We’re clear of the relegation zone now, but it should never have been an issue this season.
“We have the owner and chairman to take us to the next level. We now need the manager, and Steve Bruce has shown this season that he isn’t that man.”
With Sunderland and Steve Bruce’s positions seemingly secure, thoughts have now turned to the summer and a potential rebuilding of the squad. Steve Bruce has made no secret of the fact he wants to sign a new striker, while the aforementioned spate of injuries have left him requiring new faces all over the pitch.
Martyn McFadden, editor of Sunderland fanzine A Love Supreme said: “I think first of all we need to address all the loan players at the club. If all the loan players go, then obviously we’re going to lose four players, which is over a third of the starting line-up.
“There’s quite a lot of players who are like luxury players, the likes of Malbranque and Sessegnon. There’s people still settling in. In football these days it’s a constant movement. Whereas people used to have one or two additions every year, it’s now half-a-dozen.
“I think if Ellis Short can trust Steve Bruce with a decent transfer budget then we could see up to eight players coming and going. First things first we need to replace Darren Bent. We’ve got £24m burning a hole in the fans pockets, we need to buy at least two forwards. I think we probably need to buy a goalkeeper, Craig Gordon isn’t going to be fit for the start of the season, we haven’t had a left-back for some time, you could almost go to town and buy a whole new team.
“At the same time, the players I didn’t actually think would do that well this year, the likes of Phil Bardsley and Titus Bramble, have probably been our best players. But I can certainly see a lot of changes.”
To see the full interview with Martyn, where he talks about Sunderland’s season and the future of Steve Bruce, click here.
All About Sunderland 