Steve Bruce: Can under-fire West Bromwich Albion boss 'win back' Baggies fans?
- Published
Steve Bruce has won just eight of his 31 games in charge since succeeding Val Ismael as boss in February
West Bromwich Albion boss Steve Bruce still hopes he can win back the fans who have turned on him following the Baggies' plunge into the bottom three.
Three defeats in four games have left Albion 22nd in the Championship - their lowest league position in 21 years.
But the resilient Bruce still hopes his team can earn a positive outcome from Saturday's visit of Luton Town.
"Ultimately, I'm to blame. I get it," Bruce told BBC Radio WM. "But I'm still convinced we can turn it round."
Despite the fact that he is a proven success as a Championship manager, having won promotion four times, with Birmingham City and Hull City, Bruce has often attracted personal vitriolic abuse from fans, most notably at former clubs Aston Villa and Newcastle United.
But he has broad shoulders and still believes in the players who have, at times, played well this season.
Albion have had more efforts on target than the opposition in 11 out of 12 league games but have still somehow only won one game.
"It's not nice, but it's understandable," he said. "I was never blessed with wonderful ability as a player but I got through with a combination of sheer hard work and a certain resilience.
"It's my nature and it has been the same as a manager. That's probably how I've gone on in management.
"But am I going to give it up? Of course not. Can I win them back? We just have to be very brave, roll up our sleeves and win the fight.
"I thought five or six weeks ago we could change it. The nights we played Watford and Burnley and the day we beat Hull the atmosphere in the stadium was terrific.
"We had a spell last season when we hit promotion form but we just have not found that same consistency. We have to be open and honest and say some of our performances haven't been good enough.
"We need to give the supporters something to shout about and just get us over this bad patch. Get a result and it's the turning point of our season."
West Bromwich Albion fans cheered their side to a 3-2 home win on Luton's last visit to The Hawthorns in August 2021
Games for Albion this season have turned on fine margins. At the start of the month, they won a late penalty for the chance to beat Swansea City. They missed it and Swansea went down the other end and scored a last-minute winner instead.
Four days later at Preston, trailing 1-0 to a team who have conceded just five goals this season, they had a blatant penalty turned down.
But Bruce insists that his Baggies side can turn it round and silence the terrace critics and keyboard warriors with just a little more luck and the right backing.
"They're a fantastically loyal group of supporters who are disappointed at what they've seen this season," said Bruce.
"But there's also been times where they've seen their team play very well. We just need to tap into that against Luton.
"If they see their team play with a bit of fight, a bit of passion, they will get behind them, I'm convinced of that. We've just got to win a football match."
'I'm not taking anything for granted'
Bruce and Albion chief executive Ron Gourlay met for an hour on Thursday, in the wake of the Deepdale defeat - but the Albion boss insists that was nothing unusual.
"Ron's given me a wonderful opportunity to manage the club," said Bruce. "And I'm not taking anything for granted.
"I had an hour with him. Thar's perfectly normal. I speak to Ron every day. But what was actually said should remain between me and Ron. We're both disappointed that we have got off to the start we've had.
"But we're both determined to turn it round. That's what all the focus was on.
"We all understand and I fully get the need to improve results. End of."
Steve Bruce was talking to BBC Radio WM's Rob Gurney