Steve Bruce full of praise for Aston Villa ownership and sheds light on Jack Grealish saga
Former Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce has heaped praise on the NSWE ownership at Villa Park and shed light on how tough it was to keep Jack Grealish at the club.
Bruce was sacked by Villa in 2018 after one win in nine games in the Championship after guiding the club to the playoff final in the 2017/18 season.
Despite a disappointing end to his Villa career, Bruce was full of praise for the ownership, even though they gave him his marching orders.
Bruce told the Telegraph on Friday 29 July: “First season we kept them up, the second season we lost in the play-off final to Fulham.
“We didn’t play at all well.
“Kevin Friend, who is retiring this summer, saw Ryan Fredericks stamp on Jack Grealish after 20 minutes and he should have had a red card.
“We would have won and it was a huge disappointment.”
Bruce added: “The biggest thing I did that summer was fight tooth and nail to keep Grealish because they wanted to sell him and Spurs were there with £10million.
“They got £100m for him last summer. Great new owners (NSWE) there, even though they sacked me.”
Good signs
It’s a really good sign for Villa fans to see Bruce praise their ownership, nearly four years after he left the club.
It is not often a former manager will come out and defend the ownership after losing their job.
The Grealish news is also fascinating because the now West Brom manager is suggesting that Villa could’ve lost out on nearly £90million had they sold Grealish to Tottenham.
Even if Bruce didn’t get Villa promoted, keeping Grealish at the club has done wonders for Villa in the long term.
From an ownership standpoint, Villa fans must be delighted with the way their club is being run at present after securing promotion from the Championship.
Villa didn’t overspend in the second tier, but they built a competitive squad that was experienced and well-managed.
Since they’ve returned to the Premier League, the ownership has realised the importance of staying in the top-flight and has invested heavily and smartly in the squad.
Certainly positive signs for the future.
In other Aston Villa news, Matty Cash is set to have competition at right-back as another Villa youngster looks set to stay and fight for his place.