Wigan Looking for Brucie Bonuses Against North-West Rivals

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At least Steve Bruce is feeling positive about Wigan’s chances of survival. As quoted on SkySports:

“We’ve got a fantastic squad of players here that I know are good enough to stay in the Premier League. Now we’ve got to go out and prove it.”

Leaving aside the ease in which a Birmingham manager of several seasons can detach himself from his former club in a matter of days and re-program himself to become deeply affiliated with the Latics, very few would argue that the current Wigan personnel can cut it in the Premier League.

Eight league defeats on the spin tells its own story and the August home wins against Middlesbrough and Sunderland no longer look particularly impressive, given the fact that both teams currently hover over Athletic in the table. Wigan might bemoan the absence of Emile Heskey for a large chunk of the campaign to date, although since when did the former Liverpool forward ever make it through the season injury-free?

Looking at the current squad, there’s very little to get excited about and it’s clear that Steve Bruce will be splurging millions of Dave Whelan’s cash in January. You don’t need a particularly good memory to recall what happened to Marcus Bent’s last club, while the likes of Bramble, Kilbane and Brown have all been surplus to requirements at other top flight clubs.

Wigan’s next three matches are Man City (home), Bolton (away) and Blackburn (home). If the introduction of a new manager and a trio of north-west derbies can’t serve as the necessary motivation to get yourself out of trouble, then it’s clear that there isn’t enough quality in the current ranks to play in the Premier League.