Steve Bruce's alarm is set for half-past six, and by 7.15am he’s in the car heading for work. This past week has been spent formulating a plan to beat Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup and juggling all the phone calls and meetings that come with the January transfer window.
‘It’s taken 80 per cent of my time. Everybody is offering the new Paul Scholes or David Beckham. For the agents, they’re all world-beaters,’ says Bruce, chuckling at the absurdity of it all. Not that he’d want to be doing anything else of course.
After more than 40 years in football, Bruce’s decision to quit Hull City in the summer left him outside the game with a rare three months off.