Former Newcastle United forward Shola Ameobi appeared to give the thumbs up to the idea that Sheffield Wednesday manager Steve Bruce could succeed Rafa Benitez at St James Park.
Sky Sports previously reported that the Magpies wanted to hire the 58-year-old manager but that their move for him had hit a snag as they were yet to reach an agreement with Sheffield Wednesday over compensation.
Ameobi shared that if Bruce was named Magpies manager then he clearly has a good pedigree and that him being a geordie would be a cherry on top.
“If it is Steve, he has been a manager for a long time obviously he has got a good pedigree,” said Ameobi on Sky Sports (Saturday, July 13th, 15:35).
“You know being a geordie y’know is just the cherry on top.
“Ultimately whoever is hopefully coming in will do the best job, Rafa left on the back of two good results in the league and hopefully the new manager can take us forward.”
OPINION
Ameobi was always going to play if safe with his verdict on Bruce given that he is in on the payroll at St James Park. The Magpies confirmed in June, via their official website, that Ameobi had been hired to be the club’s loan coordinator. Given that Ameobi’s job would likely see him cross paths with whoever becomes manager of the first-team, he has to be careful what he says. After all, imagine if the former Magpies forward said Bruce was a terrible appointment and then had to sit opposite him come a Monday morning in the future. It would be extremely awkward and likely see Ameobi be at risk of losing his job. However the Magpies forward clearly spoke favourably of Bruce, and even went as far to claim there was a cherry on top regarding his potential appointment. While Bruce is a geordie, given that he managed Sunderland for 98 games, as per Transfermarkt, that kind of underminds the fact he is a local boy.
