Newcastle United have appointed Steve Bruce as manager on a three-year contract ahead of the 2019/20 season.He replaces Rafael Benitez, who left the club earlier this month after failing to agree on a new deal."I’m delighted and incredibly proud to be appointed as head coach of Newcastle United," Bruce commented. "This is my boyhood club and it was my dad’s club, so this is a very special moment for me and my family.“There is a huge challenge ahead of us, but it’s one that my staff and I are ready for. We’ll roll our sleeves up and we’ll be giving it everything from the off to ensure supporters have a successful team that they can be proud of."Bruce returns as a Premier League coach after spending a number of seasons in the Championship and his first game in charge is a crunch tie at home to Arsenal.He was most recently in charge at Sheffield Wednesday but has left his post after just five months to be appointed at St James' Park.Before joining the Owls, he was in charge at Aston Villa for two years between October 2016 and October 2018, where he failed to gain promotion to the top division.Bruce also had a stint as manager of Sunderland, which probably won't go down too well, considering they are Newcastle's biggest rivals.Despite that, the Magpies have hired the English coach and he will now begin the tough task of getting his new team in shape.Newcastle have already lost Ayoze Perez to domestic rivals Leicester City, which is a massive blow. He was sold for a reported fee of £30 million.The striker missed just one league game in the 2018/19 campaign and scored 12 goals to help the Toon to a 13th place finish.With owner Mike Ashley still looking to sell the club, it's unlikely he'll be investing much money to replace Perez, which means Bruce may have to make do with the squad he inherits.

The news of his appointment hasn't exactly been filling fans with confidence either and many reacted to the reports earlier this week.

One fan called the suggestion a 'disgrace', while another tweeted to say that this summer has 'broken' him.

Now the news has been confirmed, supporters will have to rally behind their team. Otherwise, it could be another very long season at St James' Park.