Wigan boss Steve Bruce believes guiding the club to safety in the Premier League is the best achievement in his career.
Latics chief delighted with Villa win
Wigan boss Steve Bruce believes guiding the club to safety in the Premier League is the best achievement in his career.
Bruce took over Wigan in November with the club languishing in the bottom three, but the 2-0 win over Aston Villa has ensured another season in the top flight for the Latics.
Two goals from Antonio Valencia helped Wigan to the three points at Villa and Bruce described the performance as the best of the season.
He told
Sky Sports: "We picked our best performance arguably for the big stage like this to cement our place in the Premier League and playing like that we deserve to be in the Premier League next year.
"We put on a really good performance, we did it at Chelsea, Liverpool and to come to Villa, who are flying high is a wonderful result for us.
Praise
Bruce singled out match-winner Valencia for special praise after his two-goal show at Villa Park.
He added: "He is always a threat as he can dribble past people and has pace and he played exceptionally well along with (Wilson) Palacios.
"Defensively again you can see why we are so hard to beat and the mentality of the players has been fantastic."
Bruce is proud of his achievement in keeping Wigan up after it looked bleak back in December.
He said: "I think it is the best thing I have ever done. I think we had nine points on December 16th and we looked dead and buried amongst Derby and I thought to myself this is going to take some turnaround.
"But all credit to the players and more importantly to the staff that came along with me.
"We had the belief and I am delighted for the chairman who put in a huge outlet and thank god I have repaid his faith."
Break
Bruce has not set his sights on a long rest before planning for next season.
He added: "To get 31 points since the turn of the year is a huge haul and obviously I am delighted about that.
"My next target? That is the beach somewhere as I need to take a break and get rested and charge the batteries to go again next season."
