Bruce remembers being turned down by Burnley
Sep 18 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal
“One thing that Sir Alex asked of the LMA was that there should be a recommended size of dressing room because if you look at it, there will be 18 or 19 players, at least, in a squad.“And then Premier League clubs will have at least ten staff, with your doctors, physios and coaches. So you need to get everybody stripped and I would doubt that there are 28 pegs in there, that’s for sure. “But when you go out there on the pitch, they have 11 players who have done remarkably well and a manager that has done the same. I think the vast majority of my players will know what to expect, but we will find out on Saturday.”revealed: “That sense of rejection has always stayed with me.
“At Gillingham, I used to have to get the bus. There were two of us, I used to have to sweep the terraces, clean the boots, wash the kits, the lot.
“I didn’t get home until 7 o’clock at night, but it does give you grounding and a little bit of discipline, and an understanding of the value of hard work. That will stay with me forever.”
Much has changed in football in the decades since, but Bruce knows the intimidating atmosphere at Turf Moor, where Sunderland are tomorrow the visitors, is not one of them, particularly when he read Sir Alex Ferguson’s complaints about the size of the dressing rooms earlier this season.
“It’s a bit much when you’ve got to get changed in the corridor because there’s not enough room,” Bruce admitted.
“I don’t think that it has changed and I didn’t think that it would change. I used to clean that changing room, so if there are any dirty marks there or anything like that, they’re nothing to do with me!
“It’s part and parcel of the game of football.
“One thing that Sir Alex asked of the LMA was that there should be a recommended size of dressing room because if you look at it, there will be 18 or 19 players, at least, in a squad.
“And then Premier League clubs will have at least ten staff, with your doctors, physios and coaches. So you need to get everybody stripped and I would doubt that there are 28 pegs in there, that’s for sure.
“But when you go out there on the pitch, they have 11 players who have done remarkably well and a manager that has done the same. I think the vast majority of my players will know what to expect, but we will find out on Saturday.”
