Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has revealed he urged Steve Bruce not to take over as Magpies boss.
Bruce penned an initial three-year deal as Newcastle manager on Wednesday and spoke of his 'delight' at finally getting the chance to manage his boyhood club.
But he enters into a world where a lot of Magpies fans don't want him as boss. After Rafa Benitez, the fan-base view Bruce as a backwards step.
Such is the frustration towards the ownership, Newcastle fans are planning to boycott the opening game of the Premier League season against Arsenal.
Newcastle appoint Steve Bruce as manager
But Bruce, as Shearer explains, is well aware of the 'toxic' environment he is walking to and he believes he can be the man to get things right.
A local lad, Bruce spoke of his pride at leading his team and the team his late father supported, and Shearer can sympathise that it would have been hard for the 58-year-old to turn the opportunity down.
But when the pair went out for dinner three weeks ago, Shearer told his close friend that he 'must be mad' to take the Newcastle job on.
"I was out for dinner with Steve Bruce three weeks ago," Shearer told The Sun.
"It was just after Rafa Benitez had left Newcastle and we spoke about what he should do if he was approached and offered the job.
"My advice to him that night was simple: 'No, no, no, don’t take it.'
"I said: 'Why are you going to be any different to Keegan or Benitez? If you take it, you must be mad because you know how it works there.'
"But Steve is his own man and I respect that. I can’t tell him what to do, even though he is a good friend of mine.
"He was not Newcastle’s first choice to replace Rafa. He might not even have been their second, third or fourth pick.
"It looks more like he could have been the last man standing — and Newcastle just knew he would probably take the job because he has always wanted it.
"At 58, Steve is at an age now where he feels he cannot turn it down, having been close to it once or twice before.
"As an individual, you always think you are going to be the one that can change things, even if it rarely ends up being the case.
"But Steve can have no excuses at all if it goes wrong because he knows exactly what he is taking on.
"He knows what is going on and what has gone on in the past. He knows how fed-up the fan-base is.
"He knows how the football club is run, it is not a secret any more.
"This is without a doubt the toughest and most toxic situation Steve has ever walked into.
"No job is impossible but this one is very, very difficult for so many different reasons."
The difficulty of the job facing Bruce was laid bare in Nanjing yesterday when the Magpies were humiliated by Wolves in a 4-0 defeat in the Premier League Asia Trophy.
Newcastle are the only Premier League club yet to make a signing this summer and in Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon, they have lost last season's two top scorers.
Players deemed surplus to requirements under Benitez started the game and Bruce has just three weeks left in the transfer window to strengthen his squad.
Hoffenheim forward Joelinton is believed to be close to joining the Magpies on a club record deal but United need so much more than the 22-year-old Brazilian if they are to retain their Premier League status.
That's certainly the way Shearer views it as he feels merely avoiding relegation would represent a successful first season for Bruce.
"On the playing side, he is inheriting a squad that is wafer-thin," Shearer added.
"Newcastle’s two top scorers from last season - Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon - are no longer there and they are the only Premier League club not to have made a signing this summer.
"Steve is at a disadvantage already because all the other clubs have had weeks to plan and will have stolen a march on him.
"He’ll do a good job just to keep Newcastle up this season.
"Then there is the fact Steve used to manage Sunderland, which is not going to help him, even though he is a Geordie and he played for Wallsend Boys Club like I did."
