Wigan Athletic boss Steve Bruce is confident of holding onto Paul Scharner.

"I told Paul that I want to keep him and we'll have more talks when we are 100 per cent safe in this division," Bruce told the Wigan Evening Post. "Paul has a year left on his contract and is quite within his rights to see out that year if he wishes.

"It's a big decision for him, one we have to respect because it's probably one of the last big contracts in his career - although I think he could play on for a long time.

"I'm confident he will agree to stay and we'll see what develops. The talks I had with him were to tell him about what I wanted for the club, how I want us to move forward.

"What I told Paul was that since Christmas we're eighth in the Premier League form league and it shows we can put some good results together.

"I like Paul - he's off the wall and different to say the least - but he trains like a winner every day and wants to be involved in a successful team.

"He's been very instrumental in what we've done since I came to the club."