Steve Bruce's mother dies after 'terrible three months with illness'

Steve Bruce is grieving after the death of his mother, Sheenagh.

The Aston Villa manager's son, Alex, who plays for Wigan Athletic, broke the news of Sheenagh's passing  on Friday morning.

Alex called for privacy but confirmed that dad Steve would be in the dugout for Villa's end-of-season trip to Millwall on Sunday.

'At 4.10 this morning my Gran Sheenagh sadly has passed away,' Alex wrote on Twitter.

'She is now at peace with my Grandad after suffering a terrible three months with illness.

'My Dad is in need of some privacy and rest over the next 48hrs and will be back on the touchline Sunday as she would of wanted.'

Alex accompanied his message with a photo of Steve, Sheenagh and her late husband Joe, who died in February.

Former Manchester United captain Steve was asked in February if football had given him an escape from the pain in his personal life.

He replied: 'An escape? I don't think so. It's put my mind on something else but when you lose your father — and I have got a really sick mum at the moment, too — it puts it all in perspective.

'It is a game of football. Yes, we all want to win. Yes, we all want to get promoted. Yes, it means a lot. But I'm not in that cliche where I'm going to say it's everything. It's not everything.

'I have had an extremely difficult couple of weeks but it's life and you have to get on with it.'

Villa remain in the hunt for promotion to the Premier League. They will finish fourth and qualify for the playoffs regardless of Sunday's result against Millwall.