New Blackpool boss Bruce 'Wasn't ready to Retire'



Blackpool boss Steve Bruce said returning to management has "given him a purpose to get out of bed in the morning".

The 63-year-old was appointed as Neil Critchley's successor at the League One club on a two-year deal last week.

He had been out of the game since being sacked by West Bromwich Albion in October 2022.

"Yeah, that's the top and bottom of why I'm back in. I've missed it," he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"I wasn't ready to retire and I still have, I believe, something to offer.

"What I've missed is the everyday enjoyment of working with players and being involved in football.

"It's given me a purpose to get out of bed in the mornings and it's proven to me that I wasn't ready for retirement."

The Bloomfield Road side are the 12th different team Bruce has taken charge of since starting his managerial career with Sheffield United in 1998.

He won only eight of his 32 games with the Baggies and admitted he had needed time away from the game after his exit.

"I realised I needed a break. I've never really had a proper break in 40-odd years. How lucky am I to have gone straight from playing to managing and do 1,000 games? It's a lot of Saturdays," he said.

"There was a time when I thought I'd done my stint but the enjoyment and the love of football has brought me back to work.

"You get to a certain age and you think, 'Am I on the scrap-heap?' But I hope I've got a lot to offer and I've got an abundance of experience.

"I'm delighted to have been given the opportunity to start again."

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