WHAT an absolute farce.

Wigan Athletic were made to look the laughing stock of the football world yesterday by Steve Bruce's shock non-appearance at a packed press conference supposedly called to herald his appointment as manager.

It was delayed and then scrapped, leaving three empty seats on the top table and a red-faced chief executive, Brenda Spencer, who tried to explain the dramatic events.

It later emerged, according to Midlands sources, that Bruce had still not officially resigned as Birmingham boss and that he was still haggling over a financial clause in his contract at St Andrews.

Wigan claimed they were the innocent party in all this, but try telling that to cynical supporters who already believe Latics are very much "rank amateurs" compared to many of their far more illustrious Premiership rivals.

Media men Matt McCann and Ed Jones looked like punters who had misplaced winning lottery tickets as they handed out a hollow statement explaining Bruce's no-show.

In the light of yesterday's events, you wonder, does Steve Bruce really know just what he is letting himself in for at Wigan if he is to become manager of a club clearly in crisis.

Bruce will have plenty on his plate at Wigan, and when he does finally arrive, let's just hope he is as hungry as he claims to be in wanting to pull Wigan up by the bootlaces.

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan has also got to put his money where his mouth is and free up cash that will allow the new boss to spend on proven quality as opposed to mediocrity. Wigan fans have seen too much of this.

Whelan claims Bruce will be the best man for the job. Many agree, others are not so sure, and why shouldn't they be looking at his rather mediocre record at Birmingham this term.

One thing is for sure, the ongoing legacy of Paul Jewell's success at Wigan must be put to bed once and for all. Jewell and his players were magnificent, but Wigan need to look ahead right now, and to coin football parlance, there is not much light at the end of the tunnel for lowly Latics.

One hopes Bruce, when he does arrive, provides a flicker. He must put his foot down and demand more, much more in fact, from a number of players who have just not performed.

Fans now wait to see if Bruce will play his cards right, providing, of course, he does eventually find the JJB and takes charge.