Steve Bruce found the abuse he received at Newcastle United "very, very tough to take" and has hinted it could end up being his last job in management.
Newcastle confirmed on Wednesday that Bruce has left his role as head coach by mutual consent, a move that had been expected since the club's Saudi Arabian-backed takeover was completed.
Bruce was appointed in July 2019 and reached 1,000th matches as a manager in the 3-2 home defeat against Tottenham on Sunday.
He leaves with Newcastle sitting 19th in the Premier League, but did record finishes of 13th and 12th in his first two seasons after replacing fan favourite Rafael Benitez.
Bruce felt much of the criticism and insults he was subjected to crossed the line.
He told the Telegraph: "When we get beat, I get very low, but when you are managing in the Premier League with Birmingham, Wigan, Hull, Sunderland you do get better at dealing with it. You have to.
"By the time I got to Newcastle, I thought I could handle everything thrown at me but it has been very, very tough.
"To never really be wanted, to feel that people wanted me to fail, to read people constantly saying I would fail, that I was useless, a fat waste of space, a stupid, tactically inept cabbage head or whatever. And it was from day one.
"When we were doing OK results wise, it was, 'Yeah but the style of football is rubbish' or I was just 'lucky'. It was ridiculous and persistent, even when the results were good.
"The best one was to be told we were a relegation team in all but points - this was all in the first season. We finished 13th. [The criticism and abuse] got even worse in the second year. We finished 12th, 17 points clear of the bottom three.
"I've always enjoyed the fight, proving people wrong, but that’s all it ever seemed to be. A fight, a battle.
"It does take its toll because even when you win a game, you don’t feel like you are winning over the supporters."
While not ruling anything out, former Manchester United captain Bruce, 60, may not manage again due to the impact of his latest role on his family.
He added: "I think this might be my last job. It's not just about me; it’s taken its toll on my whole family because they are all Geordies and I can't ignore that.
"They have been worried about me, especially my wife Jan. She dealt with the death of my parents, hers have not been very well. And then she had me to worry about and what I’ve been going through the last couple of years.
"I'm 60 years old and I don’t know if I want to put her through it again. We've got a good life so, yeah, this will probably be me done as a manager - until I get a phone call from a chairman somewhere asking if I can give them a hand. Never say never, I've learnt that."
Newcastle's star player, Allan Saint-Maximin, was among the players to pay tribute to Bruce after his exit.
The forward wrote on Twitter: "You are, without a doubt, one of the most gentle people that I have ever met in the world of football.
"You have been a man of your word, a caring man and a fair man who never hesitated to protect us. I will never forget how you treated me, for that I will be forever grateful."
Graeme Jones will lead Newcastle on an interim basis, starting with Saturday’s trip to Crystal Palace. Former Roma boss Paulo Fonseca is the early favourite to replace Bruce as head coach.
Stellini insists Spurs not in crisis despite Conte exit
Cristian Stellini insists Tottenham are "not in crisis" despite Antonio Conte's acrimonious exit from the club.
Conte left Spurs by mutual consent last Sunday, a week on from a remarkable outburst after a 3-3 draw with bottom side Southampton in which his side squandered a two-goal lead late on.
The former Chelsea boss labelled his players "selfish" and questioned the club's lack of silverware during Daniel Levy's time as chairman in a tirade that ultimately cost him his job, with assistant Stellini taking charge until the end of the season.
Conte becomes the third Spurs manager to be relieved of their duties since Mauricio Pochettino, who led Spurs to the Champions League final, was sacked in 2019, while the club's wait for a first trophy since 2008 has extended to 15 years.
Managing director Fabio Paratici has also stepped back from his role while the club awaits the outcome of his appeal against a worldwide ban from football following FIFA's decision to extend his initial 30-month ban from just Italian football to a worldwide basis for financial breaches while at Juventus.
Yet Stellini, who is now tasked with overseeing the final 10 games of the season as Spurs bid to achieve Champions League qualification, does not agree the club is in turmoil, despite the Tottenham Supporters' Trust describing it as "one mess after another."
"When you take decisions for the best you are not in crisis," Stellini told reporters.
"If you have some matters, we have to stay compact and we have to stick together to move on and play the matches."
It was an easy decision for Stellini to assume Conte's position until the end of the campaign, with the 48-year-old saying: "I spoke with Antonio. The club and Antonio spoke to each other. They take the decision together and they let me know, I was aware of it.
"They call me and say the decision is taken and if you agree with us, you can do it. I had no problem to say yes."
Newcastle United v Manchester United: Preview and prediciton
Newcastle United are heading into a "massive month" as they bid for Champions League qualification, and their first task is EFL Cup final foes Manchester United.
Newcastle's long wait for a major trophy goes on after they were beaten 2-0 by Man United at Wembley in February.
This can still be a successful season for the Magpies, however, with a top-four finish within their hands. They could even leapfrog third-placed Man United with a win on Sunday.
Eddie Howe's side will not be short of motivation for that match at St James' Park, although it is far from the last big game they have in April.
There are another six fixtures to come before the end of the month, and Howe said: "It's a massive month. Whenever you have an intense period of games, you know those results are going to define what we do this season.
"The last two results [wins against Wolves and Nottingham Forest] put us in a really strong position and also just lifted confidence levels and morale in the squad.
"This is going to be a big week to come. It's Manchester United first, so we have to focus on that alone and learn our lessons from the cup final defeat."
The EFL Cup clash came after Erik ten Hag had described Newcastle as "annoying" in reference to their gamesmanship.
Although Howe suggested on Friday such claims had been "overblown", he confirmed Newcastle would be out to annoy their opponents.
That is certainly what Ten Hag expects as he revisited the top before this encounter, saying: "We know they delay. It's something that the referee doesn't want.
"Whey want to have tempo in the game, that is the aim of the Premier League, so they have to be consistent to let the game go."
He added: "It's a team that is really hard to beat. We are looking forward to the challenge, and the evidence is we can beat them."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Newcastle United – Alexander Isak
Isak returned injured the last time he went away on international duty in September, missing more than three months as a result. This time, the forward appears to be fit after featuring for Sweden and is coming into form, scoring six times in 10 league matches this season.
Isak has three in his last two games, with Freddie Ljungberg and Zlatan Ibrahimovic the only Swedish players to have previously netted in three in a row in the competition.
Manchester United – Marcus Rashford
Rashford, unlike Isak, did not go away on international duty, complaining of a problem ahead of linking up with England. That appeared to frustrate Gareth Southgate, but it should have him fit for this game.
It is a boost to United, with Rashford scoring more winning goals than any other player in the Premier League this season. His nine have only twice been topped by a United player in a single campaign – Cristiano Ronaldo (12 in 2007-08) and Wayne Rooney (10 in 2009-10).
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
Newcastle are winless in six against Man United in the Premier League, but their past two meetings – the only two under Howe – have both ended in draws.
It was goalless between the sides at Old Trafford. Although Newcastle have not kept clean sheets in consecutive games against Man United since May 1997, the visitors are without a goal in their past two league games.
The Magpies are more than capable of frustrating their opponents if they have a result to protect, too, with their matches this season spanning the third-longest period of time on average at 98 minutes and 58 seconds but seeing a ball-in-play low of 51 minutes and 41 seconds.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Newcastle - 34.3 per cent
Man United - 36.8 per cent
Draw - 28.9 per cent
Ten Hag hopeful Rashford will be available for Newcastle clash
Erik ten Hag has "good hope" that star man Marcus Rashford will be available for Manchester United's vital Premier League clash with Newcastle United on Sunday.
Rashford has enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career so far, netting 27 goals in all competitions to help the Red Devils to end their six-year trophy drought by lifting the EFL Cup in February, beating Newcastle in the final.
However, Rashford was forced to withdraw from the England squad for the recent international break after picking up a knock late on in the FA Cup victory over Fulham.
With Ten Hag's men travelling to play the Magpies again on Sunday in a crucial encounter in the race for the Champions League spots, the Dutchman believes Rashford is in with a strong chance of featuring.
"I've good hope," Ten Hag told reporters at his pre-match news conference. "He trained but he had to do some treatment, he had to do some individual training. Today he joined in with the group.
"We have one more day. I have a good hope he will be available."
Rashford's impressive season comes after a disappointing 2021-22 campaign, in which he scored just five goals in all competitions as the Red Devils recorded their lowest-ever Premier League points tally.
When asked about the influence he had exerted on Rashford's much-improved form, Ten Hag pointed to the 25-year-old's enhanced mentality as well as coaching, while revealing talks were going on behind the scenes to extend the forward's deal with the club, which is set to expire at the end of next season.
"I'm not Harry Potter," Ten Hag said. "It's like a process. There are many tools you're putting in your management to let people get to [their] best form and best shape. It's about line-up, way of playing,
"Especially it's a lot about himself because he's the one and he has the skills. So when he is in the best attitude, best mentality, then he will score goals.
"It's [new contract talks] an internal process. We focus on winning games. Of course, [we are] also planning for the future so in the back we're working on that. It's about agents, it's about football director John Murtaugh. Rashy and I are focusing on performing."
Following his withdrawal from the England squad, Rashford was pictured in New York after flying out to the United States for a holiday.
Having played 44 games for United already this season, Ten Hag has no problem with the forward getting away to rest ahead of a busy end to the campaign.
"I think it's positive that he was on a break," Ten Hag added. "I think Rashford, I think with Bruno [Fernandes], he was playing the most games of the whole squad.
"Our players are playing the most games in this crazy season. They need a breather to collect energy. For me, it's positive he took that time to turn off from football.
"I have seen him back this week and he has shown a lot of energy, a lot of motivation, it was a good spirit and a lot of focus."
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