Newcastle United's new boss and former Manchester United captain Steve Bruce has revealed the role David Beckham played in his latest role in management.
The former Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday boss has taken over from Rafa Benitez on Tyneside and faced the media ahead of a pre-season clash with West Ham in the Premier League Asia Cup — a competition in which Manchester City are also featuring.
And he was asked if friends from within football had been in touch to advise him on whether to take the role, Bruce said: “Yeah, tonnes of them, tonnes of them. You’ve got to do it people said.
"I don’t want to mention names but David Beckham was one of them. I’ll have to show my daughter that text message."
Bruce and Beckham were United teammates back in the 1990s with the former defender's Old Trafford career coming to an end as the legendary Leyontonstone-born midfielder was on the rise. They won the 1995/96 Premier League together under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Bruce, however, finds himself at the centre of mass discontent among Newcastle supporters who were angry at seeing Benitez depart and don't believe the ex United great is the right man for the job. There have also been complaints raised by Sheffield Wednesday who released a statement saying: "There remains outstanding legal issues to be resolved between the club and the staff and Newcastle United.
But he added that he will have control of transfer business at St James' Park as he focuses on his job. Midfielder is a target for his old club United.
“I don’t really want to go into specifics," he told the Chronicle.
“There are have been a couple of things written, some of the comments.
“The big one is am I going to sit here and be a puppet? That won’t happen. I am in charge of transfers.”
