Bruce to rest key players
Published Date:
26 August 2008
Wigan Athletic boss Steve Bruce is determined not to lose against Notts County tonight.
But the Latics boss will rotate as he targets a place in the third round of a competition the club reached the final of two seasons ago.
He wants to rest some key players ahead of Saturday's Premier League trip to Hull which will see Wigan attempt to get off the mark after defeats to West Ham and Chelsea.
So the JJB Stadium clash (7.45pm) is likely to see first starts of the campaign for Daniel de Ridder, Michael Brown, Kevin Kilbane, Henri Camara and Antoine Sibierski.
Ryan Taylor also comes into the reckoning after missing much of pre-season and the first two games with a shin complaint.
Latics could have elected to play this game tomorrow night after only facing Chelsea on Sunday, but Bruce preferred to do battle with the
Magpies tonight in order to have more preparation time for Hull.
He said: "We could have
delayed this game until Wednesday night but then have had less time to prepare for playing Hull in the league.
"Instead, we chose to play two days after Chelsea which meant less recovery time, but the preparation for Hull is crucial.
"We will show Notts County the utmost respect, but this is a chance for me to play some players who are in need of a game to raise match fitness.
"I've six or seven of them in that boat, so there will be quite a few changes from Sunday.
"We are a Premier League side playing a cup tie and we have to approach it and do things right, let me assure
people we will do that."
Bruce has a decision to make about who to play in goal, with Chris Kirkland ruled out with a back injury sustained in the warm-up before the Chelsea game.
Mike Pollitt replaced him on Sunday and is likely to play at Hull, so this could be a chance for a competitive Latics debut for Carlo Nash.
In terms of other selection
issues, Jason Koumas is doubtful after being substituted at half-time on Sunday with a recurrence of the knee injury which affected him during pre-season.
Paul Scharner is unlikely to be risked either because of an ankle problem which flared up while he was on international duty last week.
Most of the changes are likely to come in midfield and up front, as Bruce is currently a bit thin on the ground when it comes to defenders.
The full article contains 427 words and appears in Wigan Evening Post newspaper.
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Last Updated:
26 August 2008 10:05 AM
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Source:
Wigan Evening Post
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Location:
Wigan