Memories of Steve Bruce, as captain and later manager of Birmingham City, will flood back when his new club Blackpool take on Blues in their home FA Cup second round tie on November 30.

Bruce, now 63, has always been media-friendly. My first involvement with him was when Steve was a central defender and captain of Manchester United.

He was with United from 1987 to 1996. When ITV had the live football contract before the Premier League was formed and then afterwards when ITV had the European Champions League rights, I found myself interviewing Bruce on a regular basis.

I could always rely on him, while other players’ availability sometimes depended on the result!

He was born in the North-east, in Corbridge, Northumberland. He began his career deeper south at Gillingham in 1979 and stayed there until 1984 when he joined Norwich.

His three years with the Canaries saw him win the Football League Cup (then known as the Milk Cup) in 1985.

The 1-0 Norwich win at Wembley was decided by an own goal from Sunderland’s Gordon Chisholm. Both clubs, ironically, were relegated to the second division when the season ended.

Steve then moved to Manchester United for the highlight of his playing career – 11 trophies were won including three Premier League titles, three FA Cups, one League Cup and one European Cup Winners’ Cup.

These achievements included Steve........

© Birmingham Mail Sport