Bruce praises 'fantastic' Kirkland

Wigan manager Steve Bruce has given an insight into Chris Kirkland’s training regime, which he believes will help the goalkeeper reclaim the England number one jersey.

Kirkland, who has been troubled by back problems, made a string of superb saves in their 2-1 victory against West Brom.

Emmerson Boyce scored the winner with two minutes to go after Henri Camara had cancelled out the opener from West Brom’s Ishmael Miller.

It was Kirkland, however, who took the plaudits.

Bruce said: “We have to thank our goalkeeper – he was fantastic – and in my eyes is one of the best goalkeepers in the country if not the best.

“With his fragile back we have decided to put the reins on him and keep him fresh. That’s why we have changed his training regime.

“He was one of the old-fashioned types who just wanted balls blasted at him from six yards. He was a workaholic. He would be on the pitch at 9am and still there at 2pm. That work left him a bit stiff.

“Now he works a lot in the gym on strength and conditioning work. If he goes with England he trains twice a day but he can’t do that.

“We have had this conversation with England. They understand that until he gets himself into the right condition, which we hope is around the corner.”

Bruce admitted Wigan had luck on their side as he achieved back-to-back wins for the first time since he took charge of the club a year ago.

He said: “The big turning point was when (James) Morrison went through and Kirkland made the save. Then we went up the park and scored.

“West Brom will feel mugged and rightly so. But you have to give credit to our lads. We did not play well but we stuck at it and got the result.

“So we take it and move on. It was vitally important to get the win especially against a team at the bottom.

“We have put a big bit of daylight between us and them. But we struggled as West Brom passed it well. They have some good players but did not get the breaks.”

Miller’s goal came following a mistake from Titus Bramble and Bruce added: “He seems to make one mistake and gets punished for it and it is highlighted.

“It was not the best of passes but he should have dealt with it. He should just have got the ball up the park and he knows that.”

West Brom manager Tony Mowbray refused to be downbeat even though his team remain rooted to the foot of the table.

He said: “I thought we played OK today, the balance of the team was fine. We created more than enough chances to win the game but ended up losing it.

“Generally week-in, week-out we are better than the opposition on the balance of play. Yet football is about being clinical in both boxes.

“We have got to keep going. We have what we have – but we paid a heavy price in this game.”