Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan has promised new manager Steve Bruce a healthy transfer kitty for the January market.

The Times says Whelan has promised Bruce £15 million to spend on new players when the transfer window opens in January. If Wigan, who are nineteenth in the Barclays Premier League, are relegated at the end of the season, Whelan will have spent £26 million trying to keep them up.

"Steve Bruce is the guy we wanted," Whelan said. "He's one of the best young managers in the land."