Graeme Souness has admitted he is wary of a return to management almost 17 years after his Newcastle United exit. Freddy Shepherd replaced Sir Bobby Robson with the Liverpool legend in September 2004 due to a successful four-year reign at Blackburn Rovers.
The 69-year-old had emerged as a promising manager, with spells at Liverpool, Rangers, Benfica and Galatasaray, alongside his Rovers stint, giving Souness a commendable CV to go with an established playing career. However, to say his 18-month spell in the North East did not go to plan would be an understatement.
Reports of internal conflict were rife throughout Souness’ time at St James’ Park. Those off-field frustrations erupted publicly in April 2005 when Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer had a scrap during a 3-0 home defeat to Aston Villa.
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Ultimately, Shepherd was forced to pull the trigger as Newcastle sat 15th in the Premier League - despite spending close to £50million throughout Souness’ reign. The former midfielder has dismissed a return to management, citing his tenure on Tyneside as an underlying factor.
“I don’t think anything would tempt me back into management,” Souness told the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast. “The relationship you have to have with the people upstairs who should be below you.
“I just do not want to be answerable to the type of people who are making football decisions. My last job was the worst job I had at Newcastle - it was a horrible job.”
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