Newcastle takeover: Steve Bruce 'not really interested' in progress of club's proposed buyout
Bruce says: "I will hear something when you guys probably hear something. Whatever is best for the club is OK with me"
Tuesday 23 June 2020 16:23, UK
Steve Bruce says he is "not really interested" in the progress of a proposed takeover of Newcastle and will accept whatever the club decide is "best" amid uncertainty over his long-term future.
The club is awaiting the outcome of the Premier League's owners' and directors' test over the submitted £300m Saudi Arabian-led buyout since April, with reports in the national media an announcement could be made this week.
The bid has received criticism from Amnesty International over Saudi Arabia's human rights situation, as well as opposition from broadcaster beIN Sports, who claim the country is involved in the illegal streaming of Premier League matches.
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Asked whether he was being kept in the loop over developments, head coach Bruce said: "If I am being brutally honest, I am not really interested in [the proposed takeover] because I can't influence that.
"I will hear something when you guys probably hear something.
"Whatever is best for the club is OK with me."
Newcastle enjoyed a convincing 3-0 victory over Sheffield United on their Premier League return, after a three-month suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Bruce insists his full attention is on ensuring he keeps "taking the club forward".
Since the announcement of the proposed takeover there has been speculation over Bruce's tenure, with Mauricio Pochettino the prospective new owners' number one choice to be the next manager at St James' Park.
"My job at the minute is to make sure that we are all focused on one thing - finishing the season off well, getting the season finished and making sure we are a Premier League club," Bruce added, ahead of Wednesday's home fixture against Aston Villa.
"Now we have been given an opportunity to say, 'can we finish in the top 10?' That would be a wonderful achievement. That is all I am focused on."
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Bruce, who succeeded fans' favourite Rafael Benitez last summer on a three-year deal, has led the club to 13th position in the Premier League - exceeding his own expectations at this stage of the season.
"We were four points behind [Burnley in 11th] so now with the games down the road we are one point behind them," he said.
"We have got to see [how high] we can finish. We have given ourselves a really decent platform. If somebody had told us we would have 38 points with eight games to spare then I wouldn't have quite believed it.
"It is vitally important we make sure we keep focused and finish the season strongly which would be good to do."
