Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has branded his former Birmingham boss Karren Brady "patronising".

Brady was Blues managing director when Bruce was manager at St Andrew's and was in position when new Birmingham owner Carson Yeung first attempted to buy the club. That bid eventually stalled and Bruce left for Wigan soon afterwards having failed to secure an improved contract.

His relationship with Brady, who departed alongside former co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan when Yeung finally completed his takeover earlier this month, was often strained but she wrote in Saturday's issue of The Sun: "Carson's first takeover attempt unsettled him when he was Blues manager and due to stock market restrictions put on the club at the time, Steve didn't get the new contract he wanted and deserved. The result was he left for Wigan. It was a bad time for Blues."

Bruce acknowledged the remarks but was less than warm in his appraisal of them after his current charges lost 2-1 against Birmingham.

He said: "I was nice for nearly eight years, so it was nice to get a good reception (from the crowd).

"But the patronising stuff from Miss Brady this morning I find really galling.

"All this nicey-nicey thing arrives all of a sudden. I find it a bit strange, but there you go."

Brady was not available for comment when the Press Association attempted to contact her.