Steve Bruce was advised by Simon Jordan to bring Mike Ashley 'on side' so 'maybe you'll get more from him' than previous Newcastle United managers have, according to the former Crystal Palace owner.
The pair worked together for little more than five months at Selhurst Park in 2001, and ultimately ended up on opposite sides in court after Bruce wanted to leave to become Birmingham City's new manager, but remain friends.
Jordan previously told ChronicleLive Bruce was 'a very good galvaniser of football clubs' -- which 'makes it even more compelling that I speak out in the manner that I do about him now' given how he previously placed Bruce on gardening leave.
The 52-year-old has now opened up about the advice he gave his former manager when he was appointed Newcastle's new head coach last summer.
"I also counselled Steve about his relationship with Ashley," he told talkSPORT. "I know when you mention that guy's name and it's like mentioning Keyser Soze. I understand that and I understand there are certain segments of Newcastle fans who will never have Mike Ashley and I can understand, to some extent, the reasons for that, but he is where he is now and it's your football club and you're better off supporting it.
"Brucie coming in, for my mind, was always going to be a challenge because whatever appointment Ashley made was always going to be seen as Ashley's man. I don't think the Sunderland connection really plays into the narrative but the Aston Villa job hadn't gone quite as well as he would have liked to have done.
"My vantage point with Steve was, 'Why don't you do something very different to what Benitez has done? Why don't you bring this guy on side? Don't brief the media against him. Stop being divisive and maybe you'll get more from him than other people have got'.
"I also felt if he was still the same Steve Bruce that worked for me, and he hasn't been jaded and removed and worn out by experiences at Sunderland, Wigan, Birmingham, Hull and all these lower-tier teams that perhaps dimmed his shine a little bit. if he still had the juice....because I know how much he wanted that job in 2004 but he couldn't take it because I had done him in court. He couldn't leave another football club and he couldn't leave Birmingham when Gold and Sullivan had done everything to get him, and he couldn't take Newcastle at that time."
