Steve Bruce is confident his Wigan side will not be affected by the fear factor in Saturday's Premier League relegation clash with Birmingham.The Latics had crept towards safety following a four-match unbeaten run but defeats at Blackburn and Portsmouth in their last two games and victories for their relegation rivals have dragged them back into the danger zone.

Bruce's men are one point above their opponents in 16th place so victory for Birmingham at the JJB Stadium would take them above Wigan and leave the home side just one place above the bottom three with five games remaining.

But Bruce insists Wigan will go into the game looking to claim victory and take all three points rather than settling for just one.

"You can't go into a game saying 'we can't get beat'," he said.

"If you need to (settle for a draw), then so be it. It gets you another point and that might be the point that takes you over the line, you never know.

"But the game is there to be won and we'll try to do that.

"I've said from the outset that in a relegation battle it's about an accumulation of points," Bruce added.

"It's okay if you keep edging away at it, and if you can keep getting that accumulation, you stay ahead of the pack.

"We haven't picked up anything in the last couple of games so it has pushed us a bit down there because Birmingham, Sunderland and a couple of others have won so it's going to be that way right until the end."

Third-bottom Bolton are currently four points adrift of Birmingham, with Fulham a further two points back, so Bruce knows this is a great opportunity for either Wigan or Birmingham to take a significant step towards safety.

"Both teams will be thinking that if they can win it, they are virtually within touching distance of getting past the line," he said.

"We might get a result and then Bolton and Fulham get a result too and it's still in the melting pot, but you can only try to do your best by winning your match.

"But we're at home, we've got that advantage because our home form has been decent of late, and I hope it stays with us."

Wigan boosted their survival hopes by going unbeaten in their last four home games, winning three and holding title-chasing Arsenal to a goalless draw.

And although their revival came to a halt with a 3-1 defeat against 10-man Blackburn, followed by a 2-0 setback at Portsmouth, Bruce praised his players for putting the Latics on the brink of safety.

"They have done great to get us in this position," he said.

"They have taken us close, very close, we now just need to have a little push over the last hurdle, and let's hope we can do it."

Bruce admits there will be an added edge to the game as he faces his former club for the first time since leaving St Andrews for Wigan last November.

Honduras midfielder Wilson Palacios will also face his former club as he returns from a one-match ban, although Michael Brown and Jason Koumas are still suspended.

"That's unfortunate because they're both midfield players," said Bruce.

"But the rest of the squad is healthy and fit, and you need that when you're going into a big game like this.

"We've been able to do the preparation as normal this week so we're raring to go."

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