Steve Bruce launches defence of his Aston Villa reign ahead of reunion

The 58-year-old, now in charge at Sheffield Wednesday comes face to his old club for the first time when they visit Hillsborough on Saturday for a play-off six-pointer.

Bruce was sacked in October after two years in charge at Villa Park, during which he came within one game of taking the club back to the Premier League through the play-offs.

The end of his tenure was marred by an increasingly fractious relationship with Villa’s fanbase.

Bruce infamously had a cabbage thrown at him prior to his final game in charge, a chaotic 3-3 draw against Preston.

Six months on from his dismissal, he has now come out fighting against the critics.

He said: “Whatever (criticism) is thrown at me, I can back it up.

"The big thing that disappointed me all of a sudden was this thing about the style of play being linked into it.

“In 2018 we were the second top goalscorers behind only Man City so it was disappointing to hear that.

“Also, in 2018, only Millwall and Burton spent less than Aston Villa yet we got to a play-off final.”

Asked whether he felt under-appreciated during his time at Villa Park, Bruce continued: “Look as far as I’m concerned it’s gone now.

“By the end of next week I would have done 900 games. Aston Villa was just a part of the journey.

“Whether it hurts or it was unjust, it’s happened. The one thing we all cry for is time.

“And when you look back overall, we won a lot of the games so you hope for time.

“But it’s done and dusted and you move on.”

In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Bruce claimed reaching last season’s play-off final was one of the better achievements of a managerial career which has seen him win four Championship promotions.

Villa’s need to comply with Financial Fair Play meant his spending, at least in terms of transfer fees, was restricted.

Bruce also had to handle the fallout from the play-off final defeat, which plunged the club into a cash crisis only resolved by the arrival of new owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens.

Recent figures have, however, revealed Villa’s wage bill did increase by nearly £12million for the 2017/18 season, with Bruce allowed to bring in both John Terry and Robert Snodgrass on big money.

He told the Mirror: “It was a very, very difficult, 12, 18 months. To get to the play-off final, I thought was one of my better achievements.

“But because it’s Aston Villa, nobody looks at it even though we were in financial trouble for a long, long time.

“We had to wheel and deal with the free transfers. The previous summer we spent £2million and brought in £25million.

“The team that got to the play-offs was ripped to bits. We couldn’t keep hold of them. After the play-offs, the club was in turmoil."

“I was told we had to sell Jack Grealish, we had to sell this one and that one, basically to pay the wages. That’s how bad it was.

“As a manager you always hope you’ll be given time and unfortunately I didn’t get enough time in my opinion. When I left, we were two points off the play-offs.”