STEVE BRUCE has labelled reports linking him with the Newcastle manager's job as "disrespectful" to current incumbent Alan Pardew.
The pressure cranked up a notch on the under-fire Magpies chief on Saturday as his team were humbled 4-0 by former club Southampton, prompting the 53-year-old to skip the post-match press conference at St Mary's.
But Hull boss Bruce, all too familiar with managerial life in the North-East after an ill-fated stint at Sunderland from 2009 to 2011, said talk of him taking over at St James' Park was out of order.
Bruce said: "It isn't nice - it's a horrible Sunday morning for him and I find it very, very disrespectful that I'm linked with somebody else's job when he's still in a job.
"It's a hard enough job we've all got. We all know what it's like now in football management.
"That part of the game will never change, but for me at the moment I'm just concentrating on the game against West Ham (on Monday night) and leaving all that aside."
Bruce, who guided Hull to their first FA Cup final last term, added: "After what happened to me at Sunderland, it's similar to what Alan Pardew is going through now. I know how difficult the North-East is. I've been here for a couple of years. Hull gave me that chance to get back up and running again and for that I'll always be grateful.
"I've only been here a couple of years, and we've had a really good couple of years."
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