WHEN David Bruce talks about his vision for Sunderland off the pitch and what "needs" to happen moving forward, he's coming at it from two different standpoints.

There's Bruce the chief business officer, who will use the experience and learnings of his high-profile work in the United States with the MLS.

Then - and equally as important - there's Bruce the fan. A former goalkeeper who was on the books of the club he loves as a kid, the Wearsider believes he understands Sunderland's "unbelievable fanbase that defies logic".

Why is that crucial? Because behind the scenes, everything that Bruce will do in his new leading role at the club is with the fan in mind.

"I think everything begins and ends with what makes this club special and unique," says Bruce, in a sit-down interview with the Northern Echo at the Academy of Light.

"We need to define that and then live it through everything we do.

"We need to really own what makes Sunderland special, the heart and soul of the football club and drive that through the whole business. We probably haven't been as good as we need to be in that area.

"What goes alongside that is being really fan-centric, that's not an easy shift to make but it's really important for a modern football club to obsess over the customer and the fan. It's about making the business so that everything begins and ends with the fan.

"If you do that then we'll have the chance to connect with fans on a level we've never been before. We've got an unbelievable fanbase that often defies logic, we still had 29,000 coming in League One - it beggars belief. I used to talk about that a lot when I was working in the United States, people couldn't believe it.

"It's because of that belonging which you just can't buy overnight, the badge of honour of being a fan and seeing yourself in the football club. We've probably lost sight of that a little bit and taken advantage of that a little bit - and we can't do that anymore.

"We have to listen, learn and meet fans where they want to be met."

Bruce has been back at Sunderland for nine months or so. He initially returned 'home' to become chief brand and commercial officer before his recent promotion.

In the States, he spent more than a decade working for the MLS, helping to transform the brand, introducing 13 new clubs, creating new broadcast relationships and launching Lionel Messi's arrival.

On Wearside, he's already helped to secure the lucrative long-term agreement with kit-supplier hummel and welcomed Fanatics as the new retail partner.

"It's definitely about investment but it's also about shifting the mindset," he says.

"I've been schooled in the best customer service in the world in America and with the MLS, it was about obsessing over the fan. That was the only way the MLS was going to win because you have to differentiate... it's the most competitive sports environment in the world with five or six major sports. You have to be on top of your game to win and to be innovative, obsessing over and listening to your audience.

"There is investment needed to do that but it's also about the mindset of the business. We've listened and we're learning. It's been about taking stock, listening to what fans aren't happy with and what we've underserved.

"There have been some obvious pain points (retail, ticketing etc) that we know about and we've started to show that action. We've got a really good strategy and a really strong direction that we want to go in but we want to just get to work and show it, show the proof of that change."

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When it comes to fan fury, talk inevitably turns to the Black Cats Bar shambles. Irate Sunderland supporters felt let down when the hospitality area was rebranded in Newcastle colours ahead of the January Wear-Tyne derby.

"A lot of what we're talking about now, about being fan-centric, is a learning from that," says Bruce.

"If you orient yourself around making decisions around the best interests of a fan, then you make different choices.

"There's lots been said about that topic and the owner made a statement about it, I don't think anybody felt good about that when they saw it. It hurt a lot and it will continue to hurt, and I think it's a reminder that if we're not focused and considering the fan in everything we do - then you'll lose sight of what's important to you and you might make decisions that aren't appropriate.

"I think that's a good example of that. It goes back to reinvigorating the club around its purpose, understanding why we're coming into work every day. Our connection to the fan is our business at the end of the day, the thing that we're talking about a lot internally is the size of the responsibility in working for this club and in servicing the fans.

"There's no greater satisfaction than seeing a happy fan, to see a positive comment - there's been a lot of negativity and people feel that. If you understand what you're all about as a staff, then I think that outcome is very different."

With that in mind, listening to the supporters is more important than ever.

"We have a lot of dialogue with fans," says Bruce.

"We had a Supporter Collective meeting last week. We have four sessions a year. We work closely with the main supporter groups. We listen to social media. We're not blind to the football environment."

The football - what happens on the pitch - is something Bruce can't control. But his focus is on making sure the club is equipped to cope with difficulties and take advantage of success.

He says: "Business of sport is an amazing business but it's also very frustrating.

"The thing we can't control is what happens on the field. When the lads run out, our job is done. If we win, we need a business that's ready to explode."