It was Gerry Summers who initially invited Bruce - along with forward Peter Beardsley - to Priestfield. They were both products of the fabled Wallsend Boys Club, whose Roll of Honour now includes the likes of Michael Carrick and Alan Shearer.

"It's got a wonderful tradition and the number of players to come out of it is quite incredible, I think there's even a rule to this day that you have to live within a five mile radius of the club." Bruce said.

"I spent the best part of my youth in that boys club, in my opinion, more kids should be doing exactly the same, it was certainly how I started the trip I'm on now.

"The two of us came to Gillingham, unfortunately, they turned Peter away and he went on to Cambridge, who were in the Fourth Division then, and didn't make it at Cambridge either, the pair of us were small, undernourished might be the best word!"

While Beardsley took an alternative route to the top, Bruce was offered an apprenticeship deal, and, in the head of the club's youth scheme, Bill 'Buster' Collins, met a Gillingham stalwart who would help shape his future fortunes both on and off the pitch.

"I think he has possibly been one of the biggest influences in my life, without him and his family I could quite easily have gone home; in the end I became part of his family really.

"I still call them now and I hope to go and see him before the summer, I've always promised that I would.

"He was an influence not just on my football career, but also the way I wanted to be as an adult, he taught me a lot of things, for that I'll always be extremely grateful."

Despite plying his early trade as a midfielder, Bruce was switched to the centre of defence by Collins, a tactical move from the man who spent well over two decades with Gillingham that proved inspired.

"I never played centre-back until I was 18, one day, Buster said to me 'I think you should go and play at the back and have things in front of you, you're decent in the air and you want to tackle people, why don't you do that?'

"From then on I never looked back really; I think his masterstroke of putting me at the back paid off, in my early days, I still played for Gillingham in midfield, but I never had the feet really to be a decent midfield player."

Bruce maintains vivid recollections of his early days in professional football, and, even to this day, considers them vital in how his career has gone on to be shaped.

"We played against Arsenal, Chelsea, all the top London clubs, and we were little Gillingham, so we were always up against it, I think that gave me my grounding for the rest of my career, and the rest of my life.

"The one thing we had was pride, a big hunger and a big desire to do well, certainly the way 'Buster' was, he demanded that, so you always knew what you would get, even now his beliefs are still with me.

"My last ever game in youth football, I scored three against Norwich at Priestfield, I always had a knack for a goal; even when I was a centre-back I would always try to get on the score sheet, I was disappointed if I didn't get seven or eight goals a season."

Bruce made his first-team debut at the start of the 1979/80 season. Again, he remembers the match well, not least for another lesson, this time taught the hard way.

"I made my debut against Blackpool as a midfield player and I played against the late, great Alan Ball, who was their player/manager at the time.

"I was a young whipper snapper of a boy and I was thinking 'Here's my chance, I'm going to go and nail him and put him in the stand if I can'

"I never got near him, I never got a kick, he was absolutely fantastic, that was my introduction, I remember it well, they were great days, a long time ago."

Bruce went on to be named the club's 'Player of the Year' that season, and says he has always given his all in anything and everything he has done in his life, inside of football, and out of it.

"Every supporter up and down the land likes one thing, they love a trier, God loves a trier.

"If they see people who wear the shirt with a bit of pride, somebody with a decent heart that wants to do well, wants to compete and wants to play with a bit of pride for their team, then the supporters take to them.

"I would hope throughout my career that was the one thing that I did genuinely give because of the upbringing I had, I played the way I always try to lead my life which is that I'm not frightened of hard work."

His hard work paid off as - after well over 200 appearances for the club - he earned a move to First Division Norwich City, having returned from a broken leg in time to help Gillingham twice shut-out Merseyside giants Everton in an FA Cup Fourth Round tie in 1984.

"That got people talking about me again, we drew twice 0-0, and the media spotlight came around Gillingham again, that obviously stood me in good stead, I think that was one of the turning points, that I was back from injury and people had seen me again.

"When you've played 250 times in the lower divisions, you want a crack at the bigger time, I remember Sir Arthur South, the chairman at Norwich - they'd paid 70 grand at the tribunal - asking me whether I was worth 70 grand!

"I was playing with Dave Watson and Chris Woods, Asa Hartford, Mick Channon and John Deehan in a very good team and six months later, I was playing at Wembley."

Norwich's League Cup Final triumph over Sunderland in March 1985 brought Bruce his first winners' medal. Having been made club captain following the departure of Watson, an £800,000 move to Manchester United in December 1987 ensured it would not be his last.

"That just shows you what football is, within four years, I'd left Gillingham and was captain of Manchester United; it just shows you what can be done.

"You need a little bit of luck of course, and you need desire, but above all, you have to really, really work hard at your career, that's the amazing thing about it."

In addition to being celebrated at Gillingham and Norwich, Bruce has become a Manchester United legend, having won three Premier League titles, two FA Cups, a League Cup, and the UEFA Cup Winners Cup during his nine years at Old Trafford.

He is also widely considered to be the best player never to have been selected for full international honours with England, having won youth caps while at Gillingham, and captained England 'B'.

Following spells with Birmingham City and Sheffield United and, having worked under arguably the finest of a generation in Sir Alex Ferguson, Bruce moved into management at Bramall Lane, though he admits he had another career path in mind during his playing days.

"What I wanted to do to start with was to go and follow Bill and maybe take a youth team and have a stab at that.

"I know the enormous pride that 'Buster' had at seeing his young players come through, especially myself, that's the area where I looked to, maybe one day!"

Bruce has gone on to take the hotseat with Huddersfield Town, Wigan Athletic, Crystal Palace, Birmingham - who he twice led to promotion to the top flight of English football - before he returned to the JJB Stadium in November 2007.

Last season, he led 'The Latics' to a series of strong performances and fine results in the Premier League. It did not go unnoticed by others and he has since been hired as Sunderland's new boss.

Though he has achieved much in the game since, one thing is sure, Steve Bruce still looks back on his years with Gillingham as the time that started it all.

"It was the breakthrough that I needed, Gillingham gave me that, it's still with me, I still look for the results, I still have a big affinity because I spent the best part of my youth there.

"Joanna's Night Club was a haunt of mine on a Saturday night, great times; I really, really loved it, I had enormous respect for everybody, it was a fantastic, well run club that I've got nothing but happy memories of."