Black Cats owner is right behind Steve
OWNER Ellis Short's support for Steve Bruce never wavered in Sunderland's long winless run, Niall Quinn has revealed.
The Sunderland chairman says that the American billionaire was fully supportive of the beleagured boss during a 15-game winless run and remains convinced that the Tynesider is the man to take the Black Cats forward.
Short is reputed to see the game in the same way as Sunderland fans – which means great highs after a win and the plunging lows in the wake of defeat.
But he never allowed that emotion to affect his judgement in terms of whether he had the right man for the job at the helm.
"Ellis is a big admirer of Steve and that continued despite the disappointing run we've had," said Quinn.
"He knows that things rarely go smoothly in football and that there were a lot of factors such as injuries and suspensions and sometimes just the drop of the ball, that hampered us during that time.
"But he has faith in me and my chief executive Steve Walton and he has faith in the manager we thought was the perfect person to take the club forward.
"So despite the results, the owner never once questioned whether we had the right manager.
"Ellis has been hugely impressed by Steve and in particular the way he has gone about recruiting players.
"Ellis sees that as such a vital part of the business and he likes the way that Steve has taken every care to make sure he makes as few mistakes as possible in that direction."
Quinn too has been impressed by the way that Bruce has handled himself in the good times and the bad in the nine short months he has been in charge.
And he reaffirmed his intention of honouring Bruce's three-year contract at the club.
"I can assure you now that even if we don't win another game between now and the end of the season, Steve Bruce will be manager here next year," said the chairman.
"If we go down, he'll still be manager. I just feel he shares the same passion that the fans have, the owner has, we all have, and he does it in a diligent way.
"The way he carries himself and projects our club is everything we wanted.
"We're trying to make a step up in the toughest league in the world.
"We know it's going to take guts and determination and hard work, aligned with other stuff, like a good transfer policy, getting things right tactically and in terms of motivation.
"The pressure in the Premier League is incredible and there were some tough knock backs, but we think he's the right man to get this club where we all want it to be."
Email to a friend
Print this page- Transfer Rumours May 12: Sunderland, Newcastle, Chelsea, West Ham, Liverpool, Blackpool, Reading, Tottenham, West Brom
- Transfer Rumours May 12: Sunderland, Newcastle, Chelsea, West Ham, Liverpool, Blackpool, Reading
- Sammy Ameobi will be a big player for Newcastle United next season
- Tearoom throws out Anthem row trio
- Newcastle in talks over Cardiff friendly
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Jarrow
Monday 21 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 6 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North east
