With no matches to play over the past fortnight, Bruce and his players escaped the frost and snow by flying to Portugal for a training camp.
However, Bruce is at his wit's end with the situation at the club's training ground, which boils down to an under-soil heating issue.
"We've spent a fortune on under-soil heating, new pitches and all the rest of it," he said. "But we've got no fuel to it and the gas board has left a lot to be desired.
"We spent fortunes for this kind of situation and, if we hadn't gone away, we'd have had nowhere to train.
"The training ground this morning was unplayable, so we've had to come and use the stadium, which for a Premier League club is ridiculous.
"We did everything we could in the summer to eradicate that with the training ground.
"We spent a lot of money on it, but we've got no gas supply to it. It seems ludicrous."
However, Bruce insists he has no intention to don his overalls and take a spanner to the training ground's heating system, with the problem scheduled to be fixed next week.
"I've got a lot of jobs, but not looking at boilers and under-floor heating," he joked.
"Apparently it's getting done next week, but - sod's law - it'll be glorious sunshine."
