Steve Bruce still cringes at his ‘laughing stock’ novels

That man is Hull City's Steve Bruce, who talked about his love of writing, but also his deep embarrassment over his past work, at a ceremony in the city.

Hull was named the UK's city of culture for 2017 and Bruce was asked about how he dabbled in the arts as an author over a decade ago.

The phase came in Bruce's life when he was captaining Manchester United, and he rattled out three novels in the space of four months - something which few people know about.

"It was a long time ago, and I'm not sure I want to be reminded of how bad they were," Bruce said.

"Just because I got a GCSE in English, I thought I was going to be the next Dick Francis. It didn't make any contribution at all to anyone's income.

"It became a laughing stock, to be honest. I think they're probably still on the shelves somewhere, and I bet you could probably pick one up for 99p," he added.

"I don't know how I can contribute to the city of culture, but it's brilliant that the city has got some recognition.

"It seems a bit strange: two weeks ago it was the worst place to live in the country, now this. It's not often you see the city of Hull on News at 10, so it's fantastic, it really is."

All three of Bruce's novels were based on the fictional adventures of football boss Steve Barnes, with rare copies still around on websites priced between £40 and £90.

The books were entitled 'Striker', 'Sweeper' and 'Defender' and appeared on a few bookshelves from 1999.

Indeed, the book 'Striker' has a review on Amazon which described the offering as "one of the most poorly written books I have ever read, yet hugely satisfying."

The synopsis which most grabbed ED was for the 'Defender' title, which involved 'a defender who goes missing before a big game', although one reviewer did not believe it was nearly up the level of 'Sweeper'.

So there you have it: Bruce remains a frustrated novelist. Who knows, he may yet produce a fourth title involving a team whose name is controversially changed?