Steve Bruce urged to break Rafa Benitez's mould when it comes to dealing with Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley

Jordan appointed Bruce at Crystal Palace in 2001 but the now United boss walked out of his Selhurst Park deal to join Birmingham City just months later.

And speaking to talkSPORT, Jordan revealed he has spoken with Bruce about his relationship with Ashley – and urged him not to make the same mistakes as Benitez on Tyneside.

"I counselled Steve about his relationship with Ashley," he said.

"I understand there are certain segments of Newcastle fans who will never have Mike Ashley and I can understand, to some extent, the reasons for that, but he is where he is now and it's your football club and you're better off supporting it.

"Brucie coming in, for my mind, was always going to be a challenge because whatever appointment Ashley made was always going to be seen as Ashley's man. I don't think the Sunderland connection really plays into the narrative but the Aston Villa job hadn't gone quite as well as he would have liked to have done.

"My vantage point with Steve was, 'Why don't you do something very different to what Benitez has done? Why don't you bring this guy on side? Don't brief the media against him. Stop being divisive and maybe you'll get more from him than other people have got'.

"I also felt if he was still the same Steve Bruce that worked for me, and he hasn't been jaded and removed and worn out by experiences at Sunderland, Wigan, Birmingham, Hull and all these lower-tier teams that perhaps dimmed his shine a little bit. I know how much he wanted that job in 2004 but he couldn't take it because I had done him in court. He couldn't leave another football club and he couldn't leave Birmingham when David Gold and David Sullivan had done everything to get him, and he couldn't take Newcastle at that time."