Source: Northern_Echo
Boyhood club-mates prepare for battle
THE Stadium of Light will host a Wallsend Boys' Club reunion this afternoon when Sunderland boss Steve Bruce welcomes Burnley manager Brian Laws more than 20 years after they were clubmates on the banks of the Tyne.[LNB] In the late Seventies, the pair were both members of Wallsend's celebrated youth outfit and even travelled across the Pennines together to undergo a series of trials at Turf Moor.[LNB] Laws was offered an apprenticeship, and went on to make more than 150 appearances for the Clarets before leaving to ply his trade at six more clubs that included Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest.[LNB] Bruce, on the other hand, was rejected and returned to the North-East to embark on a series of other trials that would eventually result in the offer of a professional contract from Gillingham.[LNB] Their paths have crossed on a number of occasions in the last two decades, but today's meeting, which is their first as rival Premier League managers, will still have a special resonance.[LNB] For two snotty-nosed kids from Wallsend, we've not done too badly, said Bruce.[LNB] If you look back to how we were as kids, to think we both made it as footballers and have gone on to manage in the Premier League, there aren't many people do that.[LNB] We were both at Burnley at the same time, but they kicked me out. There was a big link between Burnley and the North-East at the time, and we went down there together on a number of occasions.[LNB] He's a bit younger than me, although you probably wouldn't think that now.[LNB] We've kept in touch since, and I'm delighted he still has a team that's alive and kicking in the Premier League because he took on a very difficult job.[LNB] Bruce last met Laws three weeks ago when the pair sat beside each other as Hull beat Fulham 2-0 at the KC Stadium.[LNB] That result plunged Burnley deeper into the relegation mire, and their season reached its nadir when Manchester City cruised to a 6-1 win at Turf Moor a week later.[LNB] Bruce has spoken to his former clubmate a number of times this season, but opted not to get in contact after Burnley's heaviest defeat of the campaign.[LNB] We have all been in a situation like that, and no one can tell you how bad it feels,[LNB] said the Sunderland boss.[LNB] There's nothing anyone can say to make you feel better.[LNB] I know what Brian is going through. I was watching Hull against Fulham with him and I could see his reaction when the team sheets came through and Fulham had made six changes. He was engrossed in the whole thing.[LNB] I was delighted they got that win last week (at Hull), and that's set them up for this game because they'll be thinking that, if they beat us, they're in with a real chance.[LNB] We have to guard against that.[LNB] With 11 points separating the two sides, today's game is significantly more important for Burnley than it is for Sunderland.[LNB] The Black Cats' current tally of 38 points is almost certainly enough to see them safe, but Bruce insists his players still have targets to achieve in the final four games of the season.[LNB] It's important we still try to catch Blackburn and Fulham, and finish as high as we can, he said. I want the club to finish in tenth position because that would be real progress.[LNB] That's a big ask because we're five points off with four games to play, but if you look at the games we have left, there's no reason why we can't win the majority of them."[LNB]
