Allan Saint-Maximin pays a touching tribute to 'one of the most gentle, caring men in football' as he heaps praise on Steve Bruce after his sacking and insists he'll 'never forget' how his former manager treated him

• Steve Bruce has left Newcastle two weeks after club takeover was finalised
• Manager admitted it has been very difficult with many of the fans against him
• But Allan Saint-Maximin paid a touching tribute to his former boss on Twitter 
• Saint-Maximin, the team's star player, said it was 'an honour' to work with Bruce

Newcastle star Allan Saint-Maximin has paid a touching tribute to Steve Bruce, who was sacked by Newcastle on Wednesday. 

Bruce's departure had been in the works ever since the Saudi-led takeover of the club for £305million eventually went through earlier this month. 

The manager, who presided over his final game at the club last Sunday in the 3-2 defeat by Spurs, was offered support by Saint-Maximin online. 

The French winger wrote: 'You are, without a doubt, one of the most gentle people that I have ever met in the world of football. 

'You have been a man of your word, a caring man and a fair man who never hesitated to protect us. I will never forget how you treated me, for that I will be forever grateful.'

He accompanied that message with a picture of them embracing after a game and added another tweet to the thread shortly afterwards. 

Saint-Maximin added: 'It has been an honour and a privilege to have you as a coach, thank you Steve.'

In an interview with The Telegraph, Bruce said: '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.

'By the time I got to Newcastle, I thought I could handle everything thrown at me but it has been very, very tough. 

'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 stupid, tactically inept cabbage head or whatever.

'I tried to enjoy it and, you know, I did. I've always enjoyed the fight, proving people wrong. I was so proud to be manager of Newcastle United, even in the dark times.'

Bruce is to receive an £8m settlement for what the club earlier described as the 'mutual agreement' to terminate his contract.  

Graeme Jones will temporarily take charge while talks are continuing with former Roma boss Paulo Fonseca, who is on a shortlist of contenders including Eddie Howe, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and former Borussia Dortmund boss Lucien Favre.