Mario Melchiot has praised Steve Bruce for instilling a positive attitude at Wigan.
Latics skipper heaps praise on boss
Mario Melchiot has praised Steve Bruce for instilling a positive attitude at Wigan.
The Latics captain believes the never-say-die mentality of the club boss will ensure that they avoid being dragged into a relegation battle for the third consecutive season.
The Holland international admires the irrepressible will to win which drives his manager on, and picks out the final game of the 2007/08 campaign as an ideal example of how Bruce craves success at all costs.
Wigan, already safe, were set to tackle championship-chasing Manchester United at JJB Stadium, with many predicting that Bruce would allow his former club an easy run to the title.
However, Melchiot insists that the experienced coach was just as determined to win that game as he was any other throughout the season.
Spirit
"I definitely knew that he wanted to win that game. I was injured that day and
he told me I had to be here. He made me fly back from Holland," said the Dutch full-back.
"I was trying to get ready for the Euros and he said to me that just for the spirit of the team he wanted his captain to be there.
"If your manager calls you have got to be back. When he calls me I'm there, finished. I couldn't really say to him 'I can't come back', because I knew what he wanted.
"The only thing I can say is that he's a winner and he's a person who tries to make sure that all the players feel comfortable around him.
"I think that's probably two of the biggest parts of him. No matter what happens, he always wants to win."
Discipline
Wigan will be hoping to avoid a repeat of the disappointing start they made last season, a run which dropped them into the basement battle, as well as costing Chris Hutchings his job.
Melchiot, though, is confident that with Bruce at the helm things will be different this time around.
"When Steve Bruce came everybody started looking at different things and he shook the team up and put the discipline a bit right," said the former Chelsea defender.
"Some of the guys probably had the situation where they maybe had the sun above their head. He took the sun away and made sure that everybody worked a bit harder."
