Steve Bruce has reasons to thank the Latics

Nov 28 2009 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

“Birmingham had become such a mess that going (to Wigan) second time around did reinvigorate me a little bit. I was fed up with all the in-fighting and whether the club was going to be sold.”

Perhaps the beginning of the end for Bruce at Wigan came last January, when Wilson Palacios was sold to Tottenham Hotspur, Emile Heskey to Aston Villa and – according to Bruce – a deal was struck for Luis Antonio Valencia to join Manchester United at the end of the campaign. Having been seventh at the turn of the year, the Latics unsurprisingly failed to qualify for Europe and Bruce was soon out of the door too, joining Sunderland.

“For a calendar year (2008) we got 52 points, which would have qualified us for Europe,” explained the man whose ‘dodgy’ 2009 signings were laughably blamed by Dave Whelan for Wigan’s hammering at Tottenham Hotspur. “But you know if you’re going into January and losing your best players, it’s going to be tough. It was. We still managed to finish the season 11th but it could have been something better.

“To bring players to Wigan we’d sell it by telling them to come and follow Valencia, Palacios or Lee Cattermole because we kick-started their careers.”

In Sunderland, Bruce believes he has found a more ambitious club.

“We are trying to be a big club in the signings we’ve made,” he said. “If it’s really good business everyone sells one now and again. Last Christmas I think there was a bid for Kenwyne Jones and they turned it down, which goes to show you. It was one of the reasons I came here, not just a big crowd but a big club feel.”

Michael Turner returns today from suspension and Darren Bent is expected to feature after a scare over his hamstring earlier in the week.