Source: Northern_Echo
Bruce insists Tigers were wrong to axe Brown
BOYHOOD Sunderland fan Phil Brown should have been allowed to complete this season in charge of Hull City.[LNB] That is the opinion of Steve Bruce, who believes the Tigers' board were premature last month in placing the South Shields-born boss on gardening leave following four straight defeats.[LNB] Since Brown was replaced by former Newcastle United assistant manager Iain Dowie the club have won only one of their six league games and defeat today would effectively consign them to the Championship.[LNB] Bruce accepts that his capture last summer of Hull favourite Michael Turner undermined the Tigers' defence and contributed to the pressure that eventually saw Brown relieved of his duties at the KC Stadium. But he stressed there is no room for sentiment in the Premier League.[LNB] Bruce said: Do I think they should have stuck with Phil Brown Yes. I think Phil deserved it after what he did.[LNB] They should have stuck with him. No disrespect to Iain Dowie, but with the job Phil's done getting Hull into the Premier League and keeping them up, I think he deserved a crack at eight more games.[LNB] It's never easy to relegate another team. We've all been there in management and it's awful.[LNB] Michael Turner helped get them promoted and if they hadn't sold him they'd have been in a better position on the field because he's been a great signing for us. They've had an unbelievable couple of years, a bit of a rollercoaster, and they've found it a bit of a struggle for the past 18 months. However, that's the Premier League.[LNB] John Mensah will not play in the final three games of Sunderland's season after it emerged that the Ghana international will undergo a course of injections to clear up his back problem in time for the World Cup finals.[LNB] Sunderland will open talks next week to try to agree a permanent deal for the 27- year-old, but with three years left on his lucrative deal with Lyon and concerns over his injury record, there is a chance Mensah has played his last game for the Wearsiders.[LNB] His absence from Bruce's squad will break up the defensive partnership with Turner that the manager regards as being as important to Sunderland's success as Darren Bent's goals.[LNB] Michael has been very quietly terrific. He's not going to get headlines, he's not very pleasing on the eye, but you know when he's not there.[LNB] When we were without him, Mensah and the goalkeeper we were fragile.[LNB] In the meantime, Ipswich manager Roy Keane was in typically belligerent mood when he claimed that Sunderland target Connor Wickham is out of the Black Cats' price range.[LNB] I'd be lynched by the supporters if I thought about selling him. Connor's learning his trade and is doing well. We shouldn't talk about him like a piece of meat, like we're trying to sell him to the highest bidder, insisted Keane.[LNB] We're under no pressure to sell and Sunderland wouldn't be able to afford him anyway.[LNB]
