Steve Bruce
I suppose it's better to be a lucky manager than a good one.
I accept I am not everyone's cup of tea, but judge me over a period of time.
All you can try to be is as honest as you possibly can.
I'm a Newcastle lad, so to be manager is every Geordie's dream.
To manage your country, there's no bigger job.
Stats can do anything you wish. When we got the sack at Aston Villa it came out there had only been Man City in that calendar year who had scored more goals than Villa.
My job's about the accumulation of points over a 10-month season. And if you're with a team expected to be in the bottom half of the Premier League it's always going to be tough. There's going to be periods when you go up and down.
I believe in what I do on the training ground.
I was headstrong when I was younger and maybe I've had too many jobs in my time.
My loyalty was questioned for a long time when I was younger, and that's understandable. I found it very difficult to conform and I wanted to do it all my way.
Management, whether you're managing in the lower division or you're right at the top, is about getting the best out of what you've got.
Flexibility isn't a bad thing.
Does it feel like I can't win? Sometimes.
The only way you can respond to anything in football is through results.
If Mauricio Pochettino can get the sack, then we all can because he did a wonderful job at Tottenham.
Whether I'm 'head coach' or 'manager,' it doesn't bother me at all.
Alan Shearer is a friend of mine and he is entitled to his opinions.
The Hull job had been offered to me and while watching Chelsea against Bayern Munich I was thinking: 'I'm going to give it a crack.' I'd rather be managing than commentating.
When you get sacked, everybody thinks: 'He's a football manager, he'll get lots of money,' but you still get sacked, which for me is a slur on you, it degrades you.
Man-management far outweighs sports science.
It's the manager's job to always knock on the door, to always strive to improve, but there has to be a reasonable degree of common sense too.
I judge people, and myself, when you are up against it. When you've been beaten like that you have to find out who is alongside you, you roll your sleeves and come out fighting and those are my principles.
You lose a game and you lose confidence and we get that back through hard work.
When I got the sack from Huddersfield it hurt me badly. I became reclusive, I never went to a match, don't think I left the house for five months.
A lot of businessman come into football find it difficult. They think because they have more money to throw at it, that will work. Of course money helps but it doesn't guarantee success.
My dad worked all his life, an engineer, 30 years, week in, week out at the same machine. That is mind-boggling to me. I do not know how the hell he did it.
I was never blessed with any real ability but I loved the game and made up for anything I lacked with sheer hard work.
I saw my mates go off to get apprenticeships on the shipyards and I went off to chase the dream of playing football and made sure I worked hard at it.
As a player I had some good times but people forget I had a lot of hard times to get there; seven years in the lower divisions.
One of the most enjoyable parts of the job is seeing a young fella who you give a debut to or you buy and see them progress.
Coming to manage Newcastle was never going to be easy. But there was never a side to me that thought, 'Oh no, I do not want that.'
Your boyhood club, the one you've supported, the one result that you look for more than anybody else because of my upbringing, has always been Newcastle so to go and manage it is arguably the pinnacle but it's a really difficult job, I have to tell you.
When I was younger, I was a bit awkward to work for, hence why I had about five clubs in two years. I was a bit petulant, shall we say. But you're never too old to keep learning because every day in management, something is thrown at you which throws you a curveball.
I know what it means to the supporters of Newcastle to try and win something and realistically, the cup competitions are our best route.
When you're taking on a Sean Dyche team, you know what's coming.
I've said it for a long time that Aston Villa is a special club.
Any club at the top needs stability, guidance and deep pockets.
I think as a manager you have always got to be looking at how you can improve.
I think in management, if you lose the drive to succeed you may as well not be in it.
You have to be as truthful as you possibly can. That's always been my philosophy.
Nobody wants to lose to bloody Rochdale.
This country always wants the underdog to win, that's in our nature.
I'm not really into tactics.
Jurgen Klopp coming into this country, you just have to applaud him for his tactics and the way Liverpool play.
You do get labelled in the game, and that's why I enjoyed my time managing in the Championship. I'd back myself against most people in that division.
Not many managers have been in charge for as many games as I have, that should tell you something.
I have not got a CV like Rafa, few do.
If there is one thing that runs through all Geordies, from grandmas to small children, it is a love of Newcastle United.
I want to entertain, I want Newcastle United that is the best it can possibly be.
Only those who have lost their parents will know what it is like. It is horrific, it is hard and it breaks your heart, it really does.