Shropshire Star

Can Steve Bruce give West Brom that new manager bounce?

New West Brom boss Steve Bruce has a lengthy managerial CV that has seen him help clubs survive relegation and win promotion to the Premier League.

Published
Steve Bruce Head Coach / Manager of West Bromwich Albion during his unveiling press conference at The Hawthorns, the home stadium of West Bromwich Albion on February 4, 2022 in Walsall, England. (Photo by Adam Fradgley/West Bromwich Albion FC via Getty Images).

In total, he has four promotions to his name and last week insisted he wanted to add a fifth to that with West Brom this season.

CEO Ron Gourlay claimed the club had turned to Bruce because of his ability to "deliver results" - adding he was the number one target for the club.

Bruce begins his Baggies reign on Wednesday evening at Sheffield United and fans will be hoping his side will reap the rewards of the so called new manager bounce.

Ahead of that game, here is a look at some of the starts Bruce has enjoyed at other clubs.

Newcastle United

It's fair to say Bruce has was given a rough ride by the Toon Army - but his time at St James Park got off to a good start.

He won two and drew three in his first ten games in charge - and that included wins over Spurs and Manchester United.

He finished a respectable 13th in his first season - before being sacked following the club's takeover.

Steve Bruce and Nuno (AMA)

Sheffield Wednesday

Bruce left Hillsborough under a cloud following his appointment at Newcastle - but his record at the clubs stand up as one of his best.

Despite managing the club for just 18 games - he lost three times in that period and took the club on an 11 match unbeaten run when he took over - including five wins.

A proper new manager bounce.

Aston Villa

At Villa Park he will be remembered more for cabbage gate than anything else.

But again, Bruce showed what sort of impact he can have. After a dismal start under Robert Di Matteo, Bruce game in and following a 1-1 with Wolves in his first match, he went on to lose just two of the first ten games.

Jack Grealish celebrates with Steve Bruce

Hull City

It was at Hull where Bruce enjoyed one of his four promotions during his first season at the club.

Taking over in the summer, he got the club off to a solid start with five wins from the first ten games.

They then excelled after the festive period - and went on to finish 2nd and earn promotion to the Premier League.

Sunderland

Bruce was handed the reigns with Sunderland expected to go down - or be one of the favourites for the drop.

But a steady start of four wins in ten games, including a win over Liverpool, saw the Black Cats sitting comfortably and they remained in the top flight.

Wigan

In similar fashion at Wigan, Bruce enjoyed an average start of three wins and a draw in his opening ten games in the dugout.

From there it picked up and after a good run he steered them to top flight safety.

Birmingham City

One of Bruce's finest achievements was the turnaround he achieved at St Andrews. Taking over from Trevor Francis, Bruce was beaten in his first game.

But from then he won six out of ten and took the club on an incredible run to the play offs - where they won promotion to the Premier League.