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When Steve Bruce left Newcastle United last October, his parting comments were sobering.

Bruce had copped for more abuse than most managers get in a career, with the end of his reign on Tyneside welcomed by the vast majority of Newcastle fans.

In an interview with the Telegraph, just days after his exit, he reflected on the level of that abuse.

"I think this might be my last job,” the 61-year-old admitted at the time.

“It’s not just about me, it’s taken its toll on my whole family. To never really be wanted, to feel that people wanted me to fail, to read people constantly saying I would fail, that I was useless, a fat waste of space, a stupid, tactically inept cabbage-head or whatever. And it was from day one..."

Those comments left many feeling as though Bruce had finished with football. And who could blame him?

Despite the criticism he came in for, Bruce achieved his principle aim with United and kept them in the Premier League - before that, he had won four promotions into the top flight.

He was now free from the strains and stresses of the job, with the new regime at St James' Park at least allowing him the dignity of managing his 1,000th game in the dugout before