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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said coaches are being put off going into management due to the level of abuse from supporters.
After leaving Newcastle by mutual consent on Wednesday, Steve Bruce said it may be his final job in the game following a torrent of criticism which he said had “taken its toll on my whole family.”
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Bruce, 60, took charge of his 1,000th game as Newcastle lost to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and Arteta said such comments from someone with that level of experience should instigate a wider debate, especially after revealing that he is in contact with several individuals who are thinking twice about pursuing or continuing a career at the sharp end of the game.
“A lot of people think like that,” he told a news conference on Thursday. “I heard a lot, and I have a lot of friends who are doing the courses, who doubted whether they want to take the hot seat, or whether it is better to be an assistant or something else.
“For me this cannot be the barrier, because you have fear about the treatment you are going to receive. I think the enjoyment as well is that big, that it should not stop you but it is important that we take care a little bit of the environment and putting things in the right place. If not, I don’t think it will get better. I think it will get worse if we don’t do anything about it.”
Arteta added that he has fielded personal calls from other managers: “And people who have been managers already. Experienced managers, and they are thinking about not doing it again.
“[I tell them] that you cannot lose the focus, the passion and the love. The reason why you made the decision in the first place to do that.
“If you are affected by every single opinion in life nowadays, with how easy you can read stuff about yourself, you are not going to be happy with whatever you do. You have to be able to deal with that. But obviously we can help to be able to deal with that.”
Arteta is approaching two years in charge at Arsenal, his first management position after spending three years as a coach under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
The 39-year-old has endured a turbulent spell at Emirates Stadium and when asked whether he found the role easier now than at the start, he said: “I think you adapt, you learn and you try to take things into perspective. You agree or disagree.
“Criticism and opinions can you make you better and you have to listen to that when it comes from the right place. You need to have the right people as well. The key is where you put your focus. If you put your focus there you are going to be an unhappy man.”