Wigan Athletic

Bruce confirmed as Wigan manager
Wigan have confirmed Steve Bruce will take over as manager on Monday. Bruce, 46, has been ruled out of taking charge of Wigan's team for Saturday's away game at Arsenal due to a lack of time to prepare. But Bruce will be at the Emirates Stadium to watch the game as caretaker Frank Barlow supervises the team. Wigan chairman Dave Whelan says Eric Black, Bruce's assistant at his former club Birmingham, will join him at the JJB Stadium in "two or three weeks". Black has been in temporary charge at St Andrews since Bruce's departure and Blues chairman David Gold insists he "will do everything possible" to stop Black's proposed move. But Whelan told SSB: "He has stayed with Birmingham because they want someone to run the team and he has promised to stay there for two to three weeks. "Steve has agreed to that and he is a man of his word. Hopefully Eric will be joining Steve here in a fortnight to three weeks. "We've agreed a contract with him but obviously we'll have to wait and help Birmingham as best we can." Bruce's confirmation as Wigan boss comes after he and former club Birmingham reached a compromise over reported £225,000 image rights dispute. As long ago as Monday, Whelan confirmed Bruce was to join the strugglers after opting to leave Birmingham. Wigan's official confirmation ends Bruce's six-year spell at Birmingham, where he twice won promotion to the top flight. He returns to Wigan having had a brief spell as manager there in 2001. Whelan is relieved the wait to install Bruce as manager is over, adding: "This last week has seemed like a month but it has all come to a head now. "I've just signed a contract and Steve Bruce has just signed a contract so we are up and running." "Everything was agreed last Wednesday but Birmingham had paid Steve some money in advance for his wages and they had forgotten about it and Steve had forgotten about it. "We had all the contract agreed when Karren Brady remembered she had paid that money and quite rightly she wanted that money back and Steve had to pay. "We had a letter saying they had accepted £3m to cover all areas as full and final compensation. The solicitors got involved and said you have signed that letter so the money did not have to be paid back. "But I think Birmingham were quite right when they insisted it had to be paid back and Steve, through his solicitor, agreed that just this morning and the deal is done. "Steve will be on the bench for half the game on Saturday and in the stand for the other half. "Frank will be running the team tomorrow he has taken all the training this week. Steve will then travel back with the team and take full control on Monday morning." Bruce is set to be handed a £15m transfer kitty as he fights to save Wigan from relegation, and is keen to take Eric Black, his assistant at Birmingham, with him to the JJB Stadium. But Blues chairman David Gold insists he "will do everything possible" to stop Black's proposed move. Black is in temporary charge at St Andrews, with his first game against Portsmouth at home on Saturday.

Blues dispute leaves Bruce bitter
New Wigan boss Steve Bruce was unable to hide his frustration at the way a financial dispute with former club Birmingham became public knowledge. The row over image rights, which has been resolved by Bruce repaying some money to Birmingham, delayed Bruce's arrival at the JJB Stadium by a week. "It has left a bad taste in the mouth after six years of decent service to the football club. "Things in contracts should, I believe, remain private," said Bruce. Interview: New Wigan boss Steve Bruce "It was unfortunate it was addressed in the media. It left me in an embarrassing situation and one I'm very disappointed with. "I think familiarity breeds contempt. "Having been here six years and having certain promises taken away, like new contracts, it was disappointing." Wigan have lost their last eight Premier League games and lie second from bottom in the Premier League but Bruce is confident the club can retain their top-flight status. "It will be difficult," said Bruce, as the 46-year-old was formally unveiled as Wigan manager. "I'm confident I can do the job and keep them in the Premier League."

Wigan loses police costs battle
Premier League club Wigan Athletic has lost its High Court battle in a row over a £300,000 policing bill. The club had claimed Greater Manchester Police (GMP) overcharged it for covering match days at the JJB Stadium. The row broke out following an increase in charges for policing games in the 2003/04 and 2004/05 seasons. Mr Justice Mann said GMP was entitled to some of the money but it was "vital" for the two sides to agree on policing costs before each season. But he did not rule on what the cost of the final bill should have been. He had been told at a hearing in October that Wigan used to be charged for special policing services it requested inside the stadium. But now the police also demand payment for the area surrounding the stadium. Michael Todd, Greater Manchester's Chief Constable, had said the charges were "reasonable and entirely lawful". GMP charged the club £226,184 in the 2003-04 season and £283,082 for 2004-05, compared with £61,058 in 2002-03. The club was charged for nearly three times the number of police on duty than there were at matches before it was promoted to the Premier League. The club originally refused to pay the higher bill, but the police threatened to withdraw their services for this season, which would have meant no home matches. 'No choice' Adam Lewis, representing the club, said: "Wigan had no choice but to pay the balance, but did so expressly under protest and without prejudice to its defence in the action." He said Wigan's case was that GMP could only charge for officers on duty within the stadium, inside the turnstiles, where only ticket holders could go. But GMP said it was entitled in law to charge Wigan for officers who were deployed in the stadium and in the surrounding area, including car parks, roads and open ground. The judge said such a case should not be referred to the courts again. He said: "It is vital that the club and police get together before each season and reach an agreement as to how policing is to be paid for." He said each side must be flexible and there would have to be "give and take".

Jewell returns to Wigan for Walsh
Derby County boss Paul Jewell has returned to former club Wigan Athletic to sign goalkeeping coach Gary Walsh. Walsh, 43, played under Jewell at Bradford City and also had spells at Manchester United and Middlesbrough. Wigan boss Steve Bruce said: "Gary has conducted himself very professionally throughout my short stay here and has behaved with integrity." Meanwhile, Rams defender Mo Camara is staying at Norwich City on loan for the rest of the season.

Swede Edman confirms Wigan move
Former Tottenham left-back Erik Edman says he has signed for Wigan from French club Rennes. The Sweden international has agreed a two-and-a-half year deal and will join Honduran Maynor Figueroa, who has signed for Wigan on loan. "Getting to play in the toughest league in the world again feels awesome," Edman told the Swedish satellite channel Viasat Sport's website. The 29-year-old played 31 games for Spurs before signing for Rennes. Edman first came to the Premiership in 2004 from Dutch side Heerenveen after starting his career with Swedish side Helsingborgs. His contract with Rennes was due to expire in the summer and the French club have decided to sell now rather than wait until the end of the season when he could have left on a free transfer. "We lose a skilled, professional player and a wonderful person." Rennes spokesman Jerome Poupard told Sportbladet.

Kapo completes transfer to Wigan
Wigan have signed midfielder Olivier Kapo after agreeing a £3.5m fee with Birmingham City. The 27-year-old has clinched a three-year contract after undergoing a medical at the club on Tuesday. Wigan boss Steve Bruce signed the French international in a £3m deal from Juventus when he was at Birmingham. A delighted Bruce said: "He's one I really wanted to get on board. Olivier's a real fighter, but he has a touch of quality about him." He added: "He can play in a number of positions and having worked with him in the past, I know what a good addition to our squad he will be. "He has Premier League experience, which is important, and I'm confident he will do well here." Bruce has already gone back to his former club during the close season to sign winger Daniel De Ridder. Kapo scored five goals in 26 appearances last season as Birmingham were relegated from the Premier League.

Wigan sign Ghana keeper Kingson
Wigan have completed the signing of ex-Birmingham keeper Richard Kingson. The Ghana international is reunited with Latics manager Steve Bruce, who signed him for Blues last summer. Kingson played for his country in the 2006 World Cup but struggled to make an impact at St Andrews and was released at the end of last season. The 30-year-old, who is able to sign after the transfer deadline as a free agent, said: "There are two top keepers here, but I'll fight for a place." He added: "It's terrific to be back in England. Steve Bruce is a great manager and I'm looking forward to my career at Wigan." Latics boss Steve Bruce told the club website: "He's a really decent keeper. "You don't play nearly 60 times for one of the top 20 nations in the world without having something about you. "I think he'll add to the competition here." Kingson will compete with Chris Kirkland and Mike Pollitt for a place in the Wigan starting line-up, and will hope to be in contention for Sunday's Premier League match at Tottenham.

Bruce hails Wigan's awesome Zaki
Wigan's on-loan Egyptian striker Amr Zaki has been hailed as "awesome" by manager Steve Bruce. He says the 25-year-old has a chance of making a real name for himself in England during his year at the club. Zaki is now the top goalscorer in the competition, after his goal in the 2-1 win over Manchester City on Sunday. "He put in a fantastic performance. If he keeps playing like that he is going to have a real future in the Premier League," Bruce said. Zaki is on a year-long loan from Cairo giants Zamalek and Bruce is full of praise for the impact he has had in his short time at the club. "His physique is great, he has awesome power and pace and of course he wants to score goals which is the important thing," the manager said. "Amr is going to be a real fans' favourite. Every supporter - whether you support Wigan or you support Man City - loves a trier who gives everything that he has got. "And that is the one thing about Zaki he gives you every last drop he has got. "So you can forgive everything, he might make a mistake or give the ball away and he does that at times. But I can't question his attitude."

Whelan warns of fickle ownership
Dave Whelan believes the time will come when a Premier League club is left in a financial crisis because their foreign owner "spits his dummy" and quits. With nine Premier League outfits having foreign owners, Wigan chairman Whelan said it is probable that one will walk. "I can see a foreign owner spitting his dummy and leaving a club piled high with debt," he told Radio 5 Live. "When it does happen I think it will be an awful shame for that club, which is left with £100m to £150m of debt." Only last week, Football Association chairman Lord Triesman spoke of the financial dangers facing Premier League clubs, who have accrued an estimated £3bn debt between them. And speaking to the Sportsweek programme, Whelan, who conceded that Wigan's debt stands at £22m, said that a form of salary capping was the only way to avoid a club from England's top flight going into receivership. "There is no doubt that Europe is very, very jealous of the Premier League," he stated. "The more we dominate Europe, and last year we had both teams in the Champions League final, the worse it's going to get." "Uefa are going to say things about debt and I agree. What we should be doing is limiting the debt a club has. "Let's say 25 or 30% of income and you can't have any more debt on the balance sheet than that. If you do you're breaking rules and get points deducted. "It is a salary cap but I think it would regulate clubs and stop these awful things happening when clubs go into receivership."

English clubs target Wigan's Zaki
Wigan face a fight to keep Egyptian striker Amr Zaki as other clubs seek to sign the Premier League's top scorer. Zaki is on a season-long loan from Egyptian club Zamalek and BBC Sport understands at least one English club has contacted them about his future. But Zamalek board member and Zaki's former team-mate Hazem Emam said he hoped to hear from one of the Premier League's so-called 'big four' teams. "We are looking for the best deal for him and the club," said Emam. Zaki has risen to prominence in England this season after scoring seven league goals in eight appearances, including a fantastic overhead kick against Liverpool on Saturday. Wigan boss Steve Bruce has already spoken of his desire to retain the 25-year-old, who he signed in the summer, but recognises Zaki's form has alerted clubs with more money. "Over the next few weeks, or however long it takes, we will try and open negotiations with Zamalek and do everything in our power to try and make sure he stays here," said Bruce. "We haven't got first refusal on anything. But we have got to see if we can agree a transfer fee with Zamalek." Bruce also said on Wednesday he had initially agreed a fee of £7.25m for Zaki but felt a permanent deal would be "a risk". Zamalek are now likely to demand a bigger fee for a permanent deal and Emam, who captained the team for 10 seasons, said his team-mate of two years had ambitions to play at the highest level. "By his performance so far he can play anywhere," Emam told BBC Sport. "I think if he plays for one of the big four there, or even the top six or seven he will have more service, the players will create more chances so he will score more. "I think it will be better next year for him to go to a bigger club than where he is now," he added. "We have had many contacts and maybe (a permanent signing) will be in January or at the end of the year but something will happen I think this year. "(We have had) no contact from Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool or Arsenal but I think it will be in the future, we hope so. We are waiting and if his performances continue in the same way I think it will happen sooner or later." In February this year Zaki helped Egypt to consecutive African Cup of Nations titles by scoring four times and has 27 goals in 49 appearances for his country. He is also one of the nominees for African footballer of the year.

Wigan beat Boro to Watson signing
Wigan Athletic have signed Ben Watson from Crystal Palace on a three-and-a-half-year deal. Latics boss Steve Bruce has paid an estimated £2m for the 23-year-old midfielder to replace Wilson Palacios who joined Tottenham last week. Bruce told the club website: "I wanted to move quickly to start filling the gap left by Palacios, and Ben is the start of that process." The ex-England Under-21 international had been a target of Middlesbrough. Boro had a £2m bid accepted for Watson last week and he underwent a medical, but the deal collapsed. Watson hopes to make his Wigan debut in their Premier League game against Liverpool on Wednesday. "We have been watching Ben for some time, and believe he has the maturity to step back to the highest level and make an impression." Bruce added. "He's a midfielder who scores goals. He's got quick feet, plenty of power and is a terrific prospect." Watson, who made his Palace debut aged 17 and has since scored 20 goals in 189 senior appearances, was in the final year of his contract at Selhurst Park. Wigan's transfer kitty was boosted when Palacios joined Spurs for £14m last week. Bruce has also seen Emile Heskey leave for Aston Villa in a £3.5m deal, while Wigan and Boro have traded strikers with Mido moving to the JJB Stadium on loan and Marlon King going in the opposite direction, also on loan. "I want to thank everyone at Palace, and all the supporters," Watson told Wigan's website. "They have been great to me but this is a terrific opportunity for me to play in the top flight again and I just felt the time was right for a move for me. "It's great to be back in the Premier League - Steve Bruce is the big pull here, it's a great time to be joining the club and I'm joining a team who are really flying."

Blackpool boss Ian Holloway stays calm after victory
Blackpool boss Ian Holloway refused to get carried away after his side started the Premier League season with a 4-0 victory over Wigan. "I'm so proud of these boys," said Holloway. "Some of them only shipped up this week and I had to introduce everybody to each other." "We have still have got our feet on the ground," added the Seasiders boss. "We have got a long, long way to go to get to that target to stay in this wonderful Premier League." Gary Taylor-Fletcher's opening goal kickstarted Blackpool's win before Marlon Harewood added a brace and Alex Baptiste scored with an attempted cross. Striker Harewood was one of three new signings, along with defender Craig Cathcart and midfielder Elliot Grandin, to start against Wigan and Holloway is aware more reinforcements are needed. "I think the lads who I had last year, and the fans, were worried about who I was adding but I think you can see that if you take your time you can get some quality and you don't have to pay the earth for it," added Holloway. "We really needed those boys to come in and I think Marlon was the key. We almost lost him because deals aren't easy to do at this level. "Hopefully, we'll get it sorted and bring some more in because, if you look at the games we've got and the rules, we are miles behind everybody." Holloway did lament the lack of preparation time he has had with a full squad and Blackpool's lack of resources compared to their rivals. "I've had those lads twice on the grass," he continued. "It's been a hideous pre-season for me, the chairman and secretary because I am so shocked at what everybody else is on and what they are paying - we are completely out of our depth. "But we will try our best and keep going. The win is fantastic for the boys to start believing in themselves and keep the momentum going." Wigan boss Roberto Martinez was critical of his team's performance and the attitude they showed. "The first half was unacceptable," he said. "When you play against a team that is newly promoted you know they are going to be ready for the battle and we were a yard off. "We were very slack and sloppy and Blackpool took advantage of that. Then after that everything that could go wrong did go wrong. "We improved in the second half as we imposed ourselves a little better. We scored a goal that was legal and was ruled offside but we didn't put in the basics that you need to win a football game." The game was originally scheduled to be played at Blackpool but was moved to Wigan because of improvements being made to Bloomfield Road. Martinez insisted this was not a reason behind his team's defeat as he added: "We showed a lack of intensity, especially off the ball. "At the start of the Premier League you need to be ready. That's nothing to do with any football issue. "You need to be ready to earn the right to be on the ball and we didn't do that. We allowed Blackpool too much space and we thought having the ball would be enough to win a football game and that's what cost us."

WEVE LEARNED OUR LESSONS - BOYCE
Wigan defender Emmerson Boyce believes the squad have gained valuable survival instincts this season which will prove useful in the battle against relegation. The Latics have spent most of the campaign in and around the bottom three, but Boyce insists they have the mentality to escape again. And he pointed to the way they held on in the 4-3 win at home to Blackburn last weekend as an indication of their progress. "Thankfully we have learned our lessons from earlier in the season and we were able to hang on for the win. "Slowly but surely we're learning. It shows the character in the team that we were able to dig in there and fight for what we have. "We'd have maybe crumbled in the past in that sort of game and conceded more goals, but this time we held firm and got the goals at exactly the right time. Hopefully that will stand us in good stead for the battle ahead."

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