Wigan Athletic - Bruce says Spurs will come good

Wigan Athletic boss Steve Bruce is confident that Spurs will come good this season but he is also hopeful that it wont be until after today`s encounter with the Latics.

Bruce reckons that the problem with Spurs is that the new players need time to settle in at the club and that coming form different cultures and climates to ours can be a problem, he told reporters:

'When you're making big changes it takes time to settle'

'I don't care what player you are, when you're coming from Russia or other parts of Europe then you need time.

'We've experienced that here. For instance, when Wilson Palacios was at Birmingham he took three or four months to settle.

'And we had Maynor Figueroa here for five months before we gave him his debut against Manchester United last season.

'You have to let them get used to the conditions, to what's expected of them and, most importantly, to try to adapt to the English way of life.

'Believe me, that's not easy because we're a strange race, and us English are hopeless at trying to adapt when we go and live abroad.

'It's a very difficult time to get them all gelling and playing the way you want to, and patience is the key.'

Bruce feels that it is too early in the season to start getting carried away and sees Spurs has being in a false position, he continued:

'We're only four games in. If you're talking about eight to 12 games then you can start analysing it more deeply.'

The Latics boss also thinks that this season the league just might be a tight one and with clubs spending big to try and bring success there shouldn`t be any panic if that success isn`t instantaneous, he continued:

'That shows everybody how the Premier League is because Tottenham have spent a fortune on players'

'They won't be there at the end of the season, but it shows anybody is capable in this league of going three, four or five games without a win.

'There will come a time when we might go four, five or six games very easily.

'So we are under no illusion that in going to Spurs we will have to play well to get anything from the game.

'They gave us an absolute hiding last year, so I hope we can turn the tables.

'The longer it goes without us giving them any encouragement it becomes more difficult for them, especially when they've had a poor start'

'Spurs have certainly got some fantastic individual players that can win any game of football so we know it's going to be difficult.

'We haven't got the best of records there so we've got to go down there and make sure we play like we have been. If we do that then I know Tottenham will be in for a game.'

Good news for Latics fans is that playmaker Luka Modric maybe missing with an ankle injury for he is certainly a classy player and the Croat will be missed by Spurs


Luka Modric

A good job that Zaki didn`t take time to settle then

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