Bruce Cleared to Take Charge at Wigan on Monday

Wigan have confirmed that Steve Bruce will take over as manager on Monday, although he has been ruled out of taking charge of the Latics for the trip to Arsenal due to a lack of time to prepare the squad.

As long ago as Monday, Wigan chairman Dave Whelan confirmed Bruce was to join the strugglers after opting to leave Birmingham. But a hitch in his departure from St Andrew's meant that it was not until this afternoon that he could be confirmed in his new role at the JJB Stadium.

The delay in Bruce's appointment was rumoured to be down to a £225,000 payment Birmingham claimed they were owed for image rights. That was never confirmed by either party but whatever the problem was it has seemingly now been resolved, with Birmingham set to receive up to £3m in compensation from Wigan.

"Wigan have confirmed that Steve Bruce has signed a contract to become the club's new manager and [he] will formally take up his new role on Monday," read a club statement. With Bruce ruled out for tomorrow's game, caretaker manager Frank Barlow will take charge as Wigan look to end a run of seven straight defeats in the league.