'Unforeseen Circumstances' Delay Bruce's Wigan Unveiling

Wigan are still waiting to officially present Steve Bruce as their new manager after his appointment was delayed due to "unforeseen circumstances".

Bruce, who has left his post as Birmingham manager to take up the job at the JJB Stadium, was expected at a 1pm press conference in Wigan today. But because of what the Wigan chief executive Brenda Spencer described as "an issue between Birmingham and Steve" the move has been put on hold.

"The club are confident that the situation, which is beyond their control, will be resolved quickly and the club will be in a position to make an announcement in the very near future," read a club statement.

Spencer explained that the situation was being dealt with by Bruce and senior Birmingham officials. "We thought we would be announcing the new manager this afternoon and, as you all know, it was going to be Steve Bruce," she said. "Unfortunately something has come up. It is an issue between Birmingham and Steve and, until it is resolved, we cannot announce him as our new manager.

"Our chairman [Dave Whelan] is desperate that we have a manager in place and he is hopeful that something will happen in the next 24 hours. I think we just have to sit tight, hold fire and hope that something will be resolved. We did have a list but Steve is our No1 choice. We definitely want him and he wants to come to Wigan. He is very upset because we hoped to have him appointed today but nothing is going to happen today."

Spencer denied the problem has anything to do with Bruce's plan to take Eric Black, his No2 at St Andrew's, with him to the JJB Stadium.