Steve Bruce discusses Andre Onana, Man United defence, Garnacho golazo and title race

In the second part of a Ladbrokes: Fanzone exclusive, former Aston Villa, Newcastle and West Brom boss Steve Bruce discussed the troubles of Manchester United keeper Andre Onana, Alejandro Garnacho’s wonder goal and the Premier League title race.

Click on the link for the former United defender’s interest in the Republic of Ireland vacancy.

United defence all at sea; Onana making too many errors

Man United have given themselves a mountain to climb in Europe now. I think that’s the eighth time this season that they’ve conceded three goals in one game. It’s just so unlike Manchester United. Defensively, where they’ve always been rock solid, they’re giving bad goals away, and are making mistakes which are costing them dearly.

Andre Onana is playing in such a vital position, and an unfortunate one, because mistakes lead to goals. It looked as if he’d battled through that bad patch, and he’d been performing very well recently. But he’s made mistakes again, and it’s something he’ll have to deal with. It’s part and parcel of being a goalkeeper. The great ones don’t make that many mistakes. I can count on one hand how many big mistakes Peter Schmeichel made in his career – you simply didn’t see them. What makes these great goalkeepers great, is that they don’t make mistakes. And, unfortunately, the kid has made too many.

United have spent a hell of a lot of money on the guy, too. I think that sometimes you’re better sticking with it and seeing it through, and hoping he gets back to his best. It’s always a difficult one when it comes to leaving a goalkeeper out of the team, and I wouldn’t have thought it has come to that just yet.

Bruce on United caretaker rumours and England interview

It was very kind of Peter Schmeichel to namecheck me as a potential interim boss for the Man United job. Look, if I could have helped out in any way, shape or form, then I would have done – that goes without saying. But it never materialised, no. No conversations took place with the club.

I lost out on the England job to Big Sam [Allardyce]. I was interviewed for the job, I think I was on a shortlist of three, if I’m led to believe what the media were saying at the time. But Big Sam got it, and only lasted 40 days, or something like that. I was close, but didn’t get over the line, which was a shame, because it would have been the pinnacle of my career.

Of course, I was bricking it before that interview for the England job, like anyone else would be. I was apprehensive, excited, to even be considered for that role. It was a credit to how well Hull City had done at that time and a testament to how well we did there. But like everyone else, when you get a job interview, especially when it’s a top one like that, you’re nervous. Obviously the interview didn’t go down too well because I didn’t get the job!

I think you have to be ready for a job like that. You have to be ready to deal with the fact that it’s not a day-to-day thing. Day-to-day involvement is obviously part and parcel of club management, but with the national team, you have between six and eight games a season. You don’t have the day-to-day side of things to deal with.

Alejandro Garnacho goal one of Premier League’s greatest

Erik ten Hag proved last year that he’s a very talented coach. Two cup finals and a top-four finish is beyond what many of us thought was going to be possible with Man United last season. They’ve had five or six different people come in since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. There’s still a lot of work to be done, of course, but the next step is all about finding a way of closing that gap between themselves and Man City. We have to admit that, at the moment, it’s too big a gap, and that’s the challenge. It’s a bit like Sir Alex, when we were at the club, his biggest challenge was toppling Liverpool, and he did everything he could to break them down.

We’ve got to improve, and close that gap because, if we’re being brutally honest, that gap is huge.

They’re relying on others in the Champions League now, and they’ll have to beat Bayern Munich, themselves, so they really have it all to do in Europe. Bayern are never going to be pushovers, so we can cross our fingers but it’s out of their hands now. The main target, again, for the season is qualifying for the top four. That has always got to be the goal for any Man United manager at the moment. When we were there, it was about winning the whole thing – that was the aim. But, at the moment, the focus is the top four, like it was last year.

You have to have a defensive platform, and to be fair to Ten Hag, he’s had some awful injuries to deal with in that area. He hasn’t had a settled back four at all. I’m so pleased for Harry Maguire, though. He’s got back into that team and he’s performing very well right now. Luke Shaw has just returned, Lisandro Martinez has been out for a long time, and I think they need a settled back four before they think about anything else. Their defensive record this season has not been good enough. Conceding three goals in eight games at this stage of the season is too many.

And then, of course, at the top end of the pitch, your job becomes so much more difficult. If you keep conceding at the rate United are, it puts so much pressure on those players at the top end of the pitch.

I was in a pub full of United fans at the weekend, so I saw Alejandro Garnacho’s goal live. I don’t think I’ve seen a better goal. It’s very, very similar to Wayne Rooney’s [against Manchester City]. How you separate those two is beyond me. How you even begin to master that technique…fair play to the kid. It’s one of the great Premier League goals, that’s for sure. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful goal…great for him. No chance have I tried anything like that in my career. I’d have had to have headered that!

Premier League title race wide open

There are a fair few teams in the title race at the moment, and I have to say Aston Villa are right up there, too. All of a sudden, with a top-class coach, they look a very, very good team. Arsenal, I’ve just seen their highlights from the Lens game, too. They were sensational on Wednesday night. They pushed Man City all the way last year, so I expect them to be there or thereabouts once again this season.

Matchweek 13 ✅
Matchweek 14 🔜 pic.twitter.com/nt9KIDxyAV

— Premier League (@premierleague) November 28, 2023

But the longer it stays compact at the top of the table with a handful of teams, the better it will be for everyone. Last year it very quickly turned into a two-horse race, but Liverpool are much better this time out. Can Newcastle continue to push on, even with the injuries they’ve had to deal with? We’re now getting to the crucial point of the season where fixtures come thick and fast. The Champions League has nearly been put to bed for everyone until it starts up again next year, so all the focus is on domestic football now for a couple of months. But they’re all in a title race this year, and the more the merrier for me!