Steve Bruce was confirmed as the new manager of Wigan Athetic by chairman Dave Whelan on Monday.

Whelan said that the club had paid fellow Premiership strugglers Birmingham City £3 million (6.1 million dollars) in compensation to bring former Manchester United defender Bruce from St Andrews, where he has 19 months left on his contract, to the JJB Stadium.

Bruce, who has been waiting for six months to seal a new deal at Birmingham, had been destined for the exit ever since Wigan, who sacked Chris Hutchings at the start of the month, made their interest clear.

Whelan added he hoped to also bring Eric Black, Bruce's Birmingham assistant to Wigan.

But he said he was sympathetic to the position of the Midlands side, where a proposed takeover by Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung has still to be finalised

"It's a big loss for Birmingham but I'm delighted we've got him. He's one of the best young managers in the land," Whelan, who initailly tried to tempt former Wigan boss Paul Jewell back to the north-west club, told Sky Sports News.

Bruce, who had a brief spell in charge of Wigan in 2001, has been Birmingham manager for nearly six years.

Wigan - hoping to stay up for the third straight season - are currently second from bottom in the Premiership while Birmingham are just three points above the relegation zone.

If the deal is tied up before the weekend, Bruce's first game in his second spell as Wigan manager will be Saturday's match away to league leaders Arsenal.