Managerial casualties remind Bruce to enjoy Arsenal cup final
TOTTENHAM’S decision to sack Tim Sherwood has only made Hull manager Steve Bruce even more determined to savour Saturday’s FA Cup final against Arsenal.
Sherwood’s dismissal came 24 hours after the end of Pepe Mel’s short-lived reign at West Brom and following a season in which Premier League managerial casualties reached double figures.
“I’ve been in management for 15 years now and two people have lost their jobs in the last 48 hours, so I’m going to take a deep breath and enjoy the occasion,” said Bruce. “I never thought I’d see the day but it’s now becoming like it is in Europe or South America – in fact it’s probably worse now. We keep getting told the average lifespan [for a managerial job] is 13 months and another good young manager has just lost his job.”
Bruce is expected to have no new injuries for the trip to Wembley but is without cup-tied forwards Nikica Jelavic and Shane Long.
“When it comes to such a big game I’ll have to weigh it up and make sure everybody’s in the right frame of mind,” Bruce said of his team selection. “Physically they have all got to be 100 per cent.”