Ahead of the season's finale against Manchester United on Sunday, the Wigan chairman admitted he feared the worst for the club's top-flight
status when Bruce first arrived in November.
Latics were in a perilous position near the foot of the table then.

But five months later, Latics are seven points clear of the relegation zone and have a comfortable mid-table finish in their sights.
They will also have a major bearing in the destiny of the title with United needing to win at the JJB Stadium or match Chelsea's result against Bolton.
Whelan has crushed all talk of Latics 'rolling over' for Sir Alex Ferguson's side due to Bruce's past links with United as a player.
Instead, he has vowed to give the Red Devils a run for their money.

Whelan said: "At the time I appointed Steve, I have to say I feared the worst and I thought we would slide out of the Premier League.
"It was an awesome task he had in front of him and I wondered how he was going to pull the side
together.
"But he managed it and that shows you the type of manager he is.
"I feel Steve has got all the players believing in themselves.
"When you walk into the dressing room, you sense they are confident of
getting something from every game.
"I'm delighted with the job he's done so far and delighted we have got a fourth season of Premier League football ahead of us."

Whelan has been particularly impressed with the manner in which Bruce has played against the top clubs, earning against Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea.
That was something which always evaded former boss Paul Jewell, and Whelan puts it down to a difference in management styles.

He said: "Paul was a great manager for us but I used to get the feeling that when we went to Anfield or Old Trafford, the size of the match used to get to him a little bit.

"At Liverpool, he used to pick a team that would keep the scoreline down and I used to feel it wasn't the right way to go about things – you go there to beat them.
"Steve doesn't have respect for the big teams.
"He respects them as clubs, but he is not bothered how big they are or how big the game is – he just wants to try and beat them.

"I'm not criticising Paul. He was a fantastic manager and I was very sorry to lose him.
"But it's just a difference of approach. Steve's approach to playing a big club is exactly the same as it is for a smaller club."

Whelan predicts a 'special' occasion on Sunday, with the JJB a 25,000 sell-out with thousands more ticketless United fans expected to be in Wigan too.

He said: "We are on the centre stage of the Premier League worldwide.
"Wherever you are in the world, you are going to be able to see United coming to Wigan and I think the people of the town are
feeling that now and how special it is to be involved in this kind of match.

"The talk of us rolling over and letting Sir Alex's team win is absolute rubbish because there is nothing we would like to do more than roll United over ourselves.
"But United are used to this kind of pressure. They are a really good side and it is going to be really hard for us to beat them.

"Have no doubt about it though, if we can beat them, we'll do it. The lads are up for it big style.
"They are confident and when they won at Aston Villa last week, they played really well.
"If we put on a display like we did at Villa, I would say United have got one hell of a fight on their hands."

Whelan revealed work to repair the pitch will begin a week tomorrow, just hours after Wigan Warriors' game against Warrington.
Contractors will dig down as far as the drains, with the new surface ready for use six weeks later.
Warriors are postponing their Super League game with Huddersfield to allow the work to be done.
And if they beat Whitehaven in Monday's Challenge Cup meeting and land a home tie in the next round, that too would have to be switched to another venue.