BRUCE FOCUSED ON SURVIVAL

Bruce - focused on survival.

Wigan manager Steve Bruce has no qualms about old club Birmingham being dragged closer to the drop this weekend if it means the Latics secure Premier League survival.

Wigan were in the bottom three when Bruce took charge in November, while Birmingham were clear of the relegation zone, but the roles have been reversed with Bruce having led his new club away from danger.

The Latics are five points clear of third-bottom Birmingham with two

games remaining so will be guaranteed safety if the Blues fail to

win at second-bottom Fulham on Saturday.

Bruce is hoping Wigan can determine their own destiny, though, as he returns to the midlands to face Aston Villa.

"Fulham can't catch us now and you've got to make sure that whoever employs you, there's a different three at the bottom," he said.

"After my allegiance with Birmingham, I wouldn't want that for them, but if Fulham win, we're safe regardless of any other results, so come on you Fulham!

"You always look for people to do you a favour every now and again, but you've still got to get the points yourself so the focus is on us getting the points."

Wigan are unbeaten in four and have hauled themselves to the brink of safety by consistently collecting points through the second half of the season.

And despite missing a chance to complete their survival mission by drawing 0-0 at home to Reading last week, Bruce is confident they will do enough.

"We're in a slightly stronger position now (compared to last week) because nothing's changed in terms of points and games are running out," he said.

"We've got ourselves in a great position and it doesn't matter what anybody else does if we go down there and get something at Villa, which will be mightily hard, but we're capable of it.

"No-one gave us a squeak that we'd take anything off Tottenham or Chelsea, and we did. The one game in our last five (of the season) we thought we'd win was Reading and we didn't, so there's all sorts of permutations.

"But it's all about how you accumulate those points over the season - a point here and a point there always stands you in good stead.

"We've been looking at tables probably since I walked through the

door here and the most alarming one was in December when we had nine points - three ahead of Derby - and I thought we were dead and

buried," Bruce added.

"The lads have done tremendously well to have won 28 points since then and be in this position with two games to go.

"We might need one or two more points but I think we're capable of that, whether it be at Aston Villa at the weekend or at home to Manchester United next weekend, if it has to be."

Bruce has been given a fitness boost with Emile Heskey expected to recover from the ankle injury that forced him off against Reading.

Captain Mario Melchiot has joined Erik Edman on the sidelines, though, after being ruled out for the last two games with a groin problem, so Ryan Taylor is set to come in at right-back.