New Sheffield Wednesday manager Steve Bruce responds to Danny Murphy criticism of holiday

Bruce’s start at Wednesday was delayed while he took a pre-arranged family holiday to the Caribbean, which he booked in order to take a break from the pressures of football

Steve Bruce at his unveiling on Thursday (PA)

The new Sheffield Wednesday manager Steve Bruce says he is not surprised by the strong criticism he received from Danny Murphy for taking a holiday before taking the reins at Hillsborough, accusing the BBC pundit of not knowing the facts around his appointment.

Bruce’s start at Wednesday was delayed while he took a pre-arranged family holiday to the Caribbean, which he booked in order to take a break from the pressures of football following the death of his parents and his sacking by Aston Villa last year.

Murphy had said during a TV broadcast that the holiday was “wrong”, adding: “You’re sunning yourself watching the cricket for whatever reason. It’s not something any manager I’ve played under would have done.”

Murphy later backtracked on those comments, admitting he did not know all the information, but insisted that he stood by his point that the holiday would be perceived negatively by Owls supporters.

Speaking at his unveiling on Friday, Bruce said: “It doesn’t surprise me anymore. People are ready to cast decisions against you when they don’t know the facts. You have to accept it, move on with it and accept that’s what today brings unfortunately.”

Bruce, 58, declared himself fully fit and ready to take on the challenge, having first been appointed on 2 January.

“Physically I’m great, emotionally I’m great,” said Bruce. “It’s been well documented about what happened over the last few weeks, few months for me, so I’m delighted to be the new Wednesday manager and I’ve started today.”

Steve Bruce watched England's cricket team while in Barbados (Reuters)

And the manager, who hinted at a possible loan deal being completed before the transfer deadline on Thursday night, refused to rule out a play-off finish this season, despite being 11 points off the Championship’s top six.

“The immediate priority is to be successful. We have just seen Hull win five or six. Fulham did (go on a run) last year. It is going to be very difficult but you can’t give up hope.

“We have got some good players who have probably been underperforming so we need to turn that around. It might be a long road. Everyone wants success instantly. There is a big job ahead.”