Steve Bruce has made a shock return to football as the new boss of West Bromwich Albion.
The 61-year-old left his last job as Newcastle United manager in October following the club's takeover by a Saudi-led consortium.
He spoke in the aftermath of that decision about how the abuse he suffered in the build-up to his dismissal meant it was likely to be his final job in management.
But barely four months later he is back in the dugout with the Baggies.
A statement from the club read: "West Bromwich Albion Football Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Steve Bruce as its new Manager.
"The experienced boss, who has four Premier League promotions to his name, has signed an 18-month contract at The Hawthorns.
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"Assistants Stephen Clemence and Steve Agnew, as well as coach Alex Bruce, join James Morrison and Gary Walsh in the club’s backroom staff."
Steve Bruce said: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to manage a club that has such great history and tradition. It is a club I obviously know well from my time in the Midlands, and I am already relishing the challenge of taking it forward.
“I did not envisage I would return to management this quickly, but once I got the phone call from Ron, I knew I could not resist the challenge of getting this club back to where they want to be.
“I am coming in with one aim and that is to get Albion to the Premier League.”
Albion sacked Valerien Ismael on Wednesday, with the Frenchman axed having only been appointed last summer.
Bruce has won promotion from the Championship in previous managerial roles with Birmingham and Hull respectively.
His first game in charge of his new club will be next Wednesday (February 9) when they travel to one of his former clubs, Sheffield United.
In an open and honest interview with the Telegraph following his Newcastle departure, Bruce lifted the lid on how being in charge of his struggling local club affected him, having taken up the role in summer of 2019 and keeping the Toon Army in the top tier amid relegation battles.
"It has been very, very tough," Bruce said.
"To never really be wanted, to feel that people wanted me to fail, to read people constantly saying I would fail, that I was useless, a fat waste of space, a tactically inept cabbage head or whatever.
"From day one."
He even admitted: "I think this might be my last job.
"It’s not just about me; it’s taken its toll on my whole family because they are all Geordies and I can’t ignore that.
"They have been worried about me… especially my wife Jan. What an amazing woman she is, incredible, she’s just a fantastic woman, wife and mother and grandmother.
"She dealt with the death of my parents, her's have not been very well. And then she had me to worry about and what I’ve been going through the last couple of years."
Ismael, who has appointed last summer off the back of a fine job at Barnsley, was dismissed by Albion chiefs following a slump in form.
They were on a run of just one win in seven league games when the West Brom board opted to wield the axe.
His final game at the helm proved to be a 2-0 defeat away at Millwall last month.
Speaking in his final post-match press conference, Ismael said: "You lose the game so the week is just a nightmare because you have zero points and have lost two games, conceded goals. Yes, it's a very tough week.
"We didn't perform, I didn't perform like I expected. I'm not satisfied.
"I understand you have to accept the criticism. When you don't win games, you have to face the criticism you get but I was a defender, a very tough defender and I'm a fighter."
