LMA inducts Steve Bruce into LMA 1000 Club and Hall of Fame

Bruce will become only the 34th manager in the modern era of English football to have reached the landmark of 1,000 competitive matches when he manages Newcastle United against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

He began his professional football management career with spells at Sheffield United, Huddersfield Town, Wigan Athletic and Crystal Palace.

In 2001, he became the manager of Birmingham City. In his first season with the Blues, Bruce led the team to Premier League promotion via the play-offs, ending a 16-year absence from the top level of English football. He spent six years in charge of Birmingham, guiding the team back to the Premier League for a second time in the 2006-07 season.

In November 2007, Bruce became the manager of Wigan Athletic for a second time, securing Premier League survival in the penultimate game of the season. Following his time at Wigan, he managed then-Premier League side Sunderland.

Bruce then spent four years in charge of Hull City, guiding the club to promotion to the Premier League in his first season. The following season, Hull reached the final of the FA Cup for the first time, losing out to Arsenal. However, by reaching the final, the club qualified for the UEFA Europa League, its first European campaign.

Following spells with Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday, Bruce was appointed manager of his boyhood club Newcastle, where he will reach the 1,000 game milestone and confirm his place amongst the most experienced managers of his generation.

On his induction to the LMA Hall of Fame 1000 Club, Bruce said: "Reaching 1,000 matches as a manager and being inducted into the League Managers Association Hall of Fame 1000 Club is a real honour for me and an accomplishment that I share with my family, who have supported me throughout my career.

"From the very start of my managerial career I have always enjoyed working with my players every day and I thoroughly enjoy watching them develop and progress in their careers. It goes without saying that I have great appreciation for the coaching staff who have given me invaluable support over the past 23 years.

"It is very special for me to manage my 1,000th match as Newcastle manager and join the 33 other members of the LMA Hall of Fame 1000 Club, which of course includes my former manager Sir Alex Ferguson and fellow Geordie Sir Bobby Robson."

LMA Chairman Howard Wilkinson, paying tribute to Bruce's achievement, said: "Most people will dream of mastering the game as a player or as a coach, but only a handful are able to do both to the level achieved by Steve Bruce.

"After a remarkable 737 appearances as a player, his reliability, unselfish nature and infatuation with the game led ten of English football's elite clubs to entrust him with the keys to the manager's office.

"In reaching his 1,000th game in management, whilst operating at the highest level of the domestic game, Steve joins a small but illustrious group of his peers, who have outlasted and outsmarted the challenges they have faced. Steve well deserves his place in the LMA Hall of Fame 1000 Club and has the full support and admiration of his colleagues in the LMA."

LMA Board and 1000 Club member Sir Alex Ferguson said: "I'm delighted to be able to congratulate Steve Bruce on reaching 1,000 matches and as a result joining the LMA Hall of Fame 1000 Club.

"For me it was a certainty that Steve would become a manager. When he was playing for me at Manchester United, I observed that he always had a fantastic ability to communicate and motivate, both with his more experienced team-mates and with the younger players coming through.

"Steve has gained a wealth of experience from all of the clubs he has managed during his 1,000 matches and, no matter the circumstances of the club he is managing, he shows great tenacity and maintains an enthusiasm and resilience which is not always an easy thing do.

"Steve has a vast amount of technical and tactical experience from both his playing and management careers and this knowledge has no doubt played an important role in Steve reaching 1,000 matches.

"Steve is a dignified leader who gives his unwavering commitment to every club that he manages."

LMA Chief Executive Richard Bevan said: "Steve is one of the most prominent leaders of his generation. The skills he exhibited as a player have been honed throughout his 1,000 matches in professional management and he is now widely regarded as one of the most experienced English managers of the past two decades.

"The fact that Steve has reached his milestone at the club he grew up supporting will mean a great deal to him. He is a passionate football man, with the drive and determination to succeed in every role to which he is appointed, but also the humility and compassion you would expect of a great manager.

"The LMA congratulates him on his achievements and his career to date."