Steve Bruce is ready to end his management career after leaving Newcastle - as the club negotiates with ex Roma boss Paulo Fonseca.
The veteran boss, 60, was put out of his misery today (Wednesday) and left with an £8m pay off from his rolling three-year contract gifted by Mike Ashley last summer.
And Bruce revealed the job has been so tough, including abuse from supporters, that he admitted of 1,000th game in the dug-out against Spurs: “It could be my last.”
Fonseca is lining up the Toon job with a pledge to produce attacking, entertaining football, after the Saudi-funded consortium wielded the axe 13 days after buying.
The 47-year-old had agreed a contract to take over at Spurs in June but the deal collapsed.
He is regarded by some in the consortium as the ideal candidate, and brings European connections and a defined style to the team, ahead of signings in January.
Newcastle have talked detailed numbers with Fonseca, who led Roma to fifth in Serie A in his first season. They also have other avenues ongoing with Lucien Favre, Eddie Howe and Steven Gerrard also in the frame.
Director Amanda Staveley and the Public Investment Fund paymasters cleared the managerial decks at 10.30am, after Bruce had managed his 1,000th game as boss on Sunday - the 3-2 defeat to Spurs.
Fans had been demanding Bruce leave for weeks, to give the club a fresh start.
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The new owners have stated they want to get the club to the Champions League and challenge for the title in 5-10 years, and will need a top quality appointment to set them on the way.
Bruce leaves with a massive pay off, despite suffering 41 defeats in 97 games in charge.
The former Sunderland boss steadied the ship after Rafa Benitez refused to extend his contract in June 2019.
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He was thanked by Staveley last week for twice keeping the club in the Premier League, which was his brief under Ashley.
On Friday Bruce insisted he wanted the job long term and should be given a chance, but the shambolic performance on Sunday was the final straw.
Former owner Sir John Hall, who triggered the Entertainers era, said: “It will take at least five years to turn this club around. It was inevitable they would go down again if they hadn’t made this change.”
