Bruce hurt by Birmingham

Wigan boss Steve Bruce has admited that the pain of leaving Birmingham still haunts him. Birmingham are languishing towards the relegation zone while Wigan look safe for another year.

"It was disappointing the way it was handled," he said. "After six years I think I demanded a bit more respect than what was given.

"The Carson Yeung issue clouded the waters a lot but, for me, the way it ended was unforgivable.

"It's often said that money is the root of all evil and, for me, people's greed ruined what was a very decent six years.

"I had an issue with that at the time and it's still there now. However, I'm now more focused than ever to make sure I do my utmost for the chairman who brought me here and get the three points, which will obviously help the club.

"When you spend six years with a club there's more to it," said Bruce.

"The vast majority of those years I believe we did okay, there were a couple of promotions in there, and you see 95 per cent of the team is still playing there.

"It's always special to play against your old club and for me on Saturday it will be no different.

"I see the players, in particular, as old friends, but also some of the staff that I left behind.

"I worked every day with them, and some players like Damien Johnson spent the majority of his career under myself.

"There's also young players you've seen come through like Muamba and Larsson, who you knew were going to be fantastic football players.

"So for all the players you brought there, when you leave them behind it is tough, but it's football - it always has to come to an end."