Steve Bruce declared himself fighting fit when introduced to the media as Sheffield Wednesday's new manager.

The 58-year-old was appointed on January 2, but officially took up his role on Thursday after completing a pre-arranged family holiday in the Caribbean.

Bruce took time out from football after his mother and father died last year and he was sacked by Aston Villa in October.

"Physically I'm great, emotionally I'm great," Bruce said.

"It's been well documented about what happened over the last few weeks, few months for me, so I'm delighted to be the new Wednesday manager and I've started today.

"There's been a bit of a furore over the last few weeks, but I spoke to the chairman and told him the issues I had and he was prepared to say 'okay'.

"He wanted me to start straight away, but as I said, we couldn't, but I'm glad to be here and delighted to get started."

Bruce, who has had his own health issues since departing Villa Park, said he was not surprised by the criticism he has received for delaying his Hillsborough start.

"It doesn't surprise me anymore that people are ready to cast aspersions against you when they don't know the facts," he said.

Owls' caretaker boss Lee Bullen, assistant manager Steve Agnew and first-team coach Stephen Clemence have been holding fort.

Bruce, whose first managerial job was with the Owls' city rivals Sheffield United in 1998, took training for the first time on Thursday.

"I wouldn't have come here if I didn't think I could turn it round and get the club back where it wants to be," he said.

"We've seen the support. I'll never forget the support I witnessed when we (Hull) played Wednesday in the play-off final a couple of years ago. I was amazed at the support they had and even at the weekend at Chelsea.

"It reminded me what a big club needs, which is of course the support, and I hope I can make them happy again."

Bruce has won promotion to the Premier League four times, twice each with Hull and Birmingham, and was in charge of the Tigers when they beat Wednesday in the 2016 Championship play-off final.

He has also had stints in charge of the Blades, Huddersfield, Wigan (twice), Crystal Palace, Sunderland and Villa.

"I only get jobs if I've managed across the city," said Bruce, referring to his previous jobs at Birmingham, Villa and Sheffield United.

"It doesn't bother me at all. It was a long time ago (at Sheffield United). It was my first managerial job and this might be my last.

"I didn't think twice. I thought long and hard about whether I wanted to go back into management, but when I got the phone call from the chairman (Dejphon Chansiri) and met his enthusiasm when we got face-to-face – he wants this club to be successful.

"That started the old adrenaline a bit to say 'let's get back on the horse again.'"

Bruce, who refused to rule out the Owls mounting a late play-off challenge, added he was hoping to strengthen his squad before Thursday's transfer deadline.

The Owls were placed under a transfer embargo last summer after breaching the English Football League's profitability and sustainability rules and Chansiri told a fans' forum in December that he would sell the club if the majority wanted him to go.

"Steve Bruce knows everything before he came," said Chansiri, who said he had turned down several approaches to sell since his threat, including one offer of up to £175million.