Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder says he is not surprised that Steve Bruce left the Blades' city rivals Sheffield Wednesday to take over as manager of Newcastle United in the summer.

Bruce had only taken over at Hillsborough in January, guiding the Owls to 12th in the final Championship standings, before it was announced in July that he had left the club to take over at St James' Park.

Wilder is now set to come up against Bruce when the Magpies make the trip to Bramall Lane on Thursday night, and speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of that game, the Sheffield United boss was asked for his take on Bruce's decision to leave Hillsborough, with the 52-year-old quoted by The Star as saying: “There was lots of talk in this area about this decision and it was a decision that did not surprise me at all.

"I have talked long and hard about the importance of LMA (League Managers' Association) from a young manager's point of view. And Steve has certainly been there for myself and a lot of new managers.

"Steve is one alongside Sean Dyche, Sam (Allardyce) and other people who pick up the phone to you. I have spoken to him in summer and quite a number of times."

Newcastle are currently 14th in the Premier League standings, having won four and drawn four of their 14 league games under Bruce this season, and discussing the decision they made in appointing Bruce, Wilder continued: "He is an experienced manager. You are not just given jobs in the Premier League if you are bang average and Steve isn't bang average as a manager and a person. I speak to him quite regularly and I am certainly not surprised by the job he is doing at Newcastle.

"It is a big, big job and a huge football club and one that needed a big personality and they have certainly got one in Steve."

The Verdict

I do see where Wilder is coming from in respect of Bruce's point of view.

There are not many chances to manage in the Premier League, with their only being 20 teams in the division, so you can certainly understand Bruce's desire to take that opportunity when it came along.

However, given the somewhat unenthusiastic welcome the decision to bring Bruce to St James' Park was met with from Newcastle supporters, it could be argued that not everyone concerned with the club shared Wilder's view here.

Indeed, when you look at Newcastle's position in the Premier League right now, it doesn't look as though much progress has been made under Bruce yet, and only time will tell whether that is something that is going to change.