Portsmouth boss Tony Adams admits he's full of admiration for Wigan Athletic counterpart Steve Bruce.

Former Arsenal captain Adams had some ding-dong tussles with ex-Manchester United hero Bruce and explained: "I have the utmost respect for Steve Bruce.

"Every time we played Manchester United, Arsenal manager George Graham would shout at me 'Make sure you mark Steve Bruce.'

"Once, George took me off after about 20 minutes when I let him go off a corner and he got his head on it.

"George never lets me forget about that.

"He was very good at set plays, very aggressive and did a fantastic job for Sir Alex Ferguson. I would love those kind of characters in my team.

"He was a fantastic professional and I expect his teams to be the same - fighters and winners."