Steve Bruce sets sights on Premier League promotion following West Brom appointment

Seb Sternik
3 February 2022

Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce before the pre-season friendly match at the Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster. Picture date: Friday July 23, 2021.

Just four months after being sacked by Newcastle, Steve Bruce is back in management.

With West Brom languishing behind their promotion rivals, the club took the decision to sack Valerien Ismael and replace him with the former Aston Villa and Birmingham boss.

Bruce, who has won promotion from the Championship on four occasions, revealed he wasn't expecting such a quick return to the dugout following a difficult spell at Newcastle.

He told the club's official website: "I am delighted to have the opportunity to manage a club that has such great history and tradition.

"It is a club I obviously know well from my time in the midlands, and I am already relishing the challenge of taking it forward.

"I did not envisage I would return to management this quickly, but once I got the phone call from Ron (chief executive Ron Gourlay), I knew I could not resist the challenge of getting this club back to where they want to be.

"I am coming in with one aim and that is to get Albion to the Premier League."

West Brom are in a poor run of form having won just one of their last seven Championship games. The drop in results has seen the club fall to sixth in the league standings - eight points behind second-placed Blackburn and 13 adrift of league leaders Fulham.

𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗕𝗢𝗦𝗦.

Get to know the man in charge at The Hawthorns with our profile. 👊
— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) February 3, 2022

Albion's chief executive officer Ron Gourlay said: "Steve is a highly-respected and experienced manager who has an impressive record of earning promotion to the Premier League.

"His excellent man-management skills, tactical nous, and ability to hit the ground running were among the many reasons we decided he was the man to take us forward.

"Promotion remains our objective for this season, and we are confident that with Steve leading the club we have given ourselves every chance of achieving that goal."

Bruce will be in charge for the first time when Albion visit another one of his former clubs, Sheffield United, on Wednesday.