What should have been Steve Bruce’s first day in his new job ended in farce yesterday as a wrangle between him and Birmingham City prevented the completion of his appointment as the manager of Wigan Athletic.

The delay relates to a financial issue between Bruce and the Midlands club and left the former Manchester United defender, who departed Birmingham on Monday after six years in charge, open to the threat of legal action if he signed a contract at the JJB Stadium.

The impasse arose because of a financial clause that has left Birmingham believing they are owed about £250,000 by Bruce. Until the situation is resolved — and despite Bruce having agreed a contract with Wigan — both Barclays Premier League clubs are in limbo. It has even been claimed that Bruce, who cleared his desk on Monday, threatened to arrive for work as usual at St Andrew’s yesterday, while Birmingham responded by stating that he was still under contract to them.

Wigan had been confident that the disagreement would be settled when they announced that Bruce’s first press conference was to be put back an hour to 2pm. Bruce, 46, was set to sign a four-year contract before touring the club’s training facilities, which have been significantly updated since he had a brief spell in charge in 2001.

Wigan also wanted Bruce to meet his new players for the first time this morning, but Frank Barlow, the caretaker manager, will again be taking training. Wigan remain confident that Bruce will be their next manager, but it is unclear whether he will be in change for their trip to Arsenal on Saturday.

It was a frustrating development for Dave Whelan, the Wigan chairman, who will pay Birmingham £2 million for Bruce plus a further £1 million if he helps them to avoid relegation. As Brenda Spencer, the Wigan chief executive, read out a statement, she admitted that it was “bizarre” that she was sitting at the top table flanked by two empty chairs, which were meant to be filled by Bruce and Whelan.

“It’s an issue between Birmingham and Steve and until that is resolved we can’t announce him as our manager,” Spencer said. “We have agreed compensation and this is nothing to do with Wigan, it’s between Steve and Birmingham.

“Our chairman is desperate that we have a manager in place and he’s hopeful that will happen in the next 24 hours. I think we’ve just got to sit tight and hope that it will be resolved. We’ve been in contact with Birmingham but we can’t really do anything.”

Despite the delay, Birmingham’s attempts to appoint Bruce’s successor continue and David Sullivan, the co-owner, insisted yesterday that a failed attempt to take Marcello Lippi to St Andrew’s was genuine. Lippi has not worked since guiding Italy to victory in the 2006 World Cup.

Sullivan, who has also been unsuccessful in his courtship of Martin Jol, the former Tottenham Hotspur manager, and is rumoured to be turning his attention to Guus Hiddink, the Russia coach, said: “We made an approach \ and he turned it down. This is not a stunt, it’s genuine.

“He is available at the moment and we are looking at bringing in a manager of his stature and calibre if at all possible. He was one of the first we went to, but unfortunately nothing materialised. Of course you get knockbacks. That’s football. But if you do not try you will never know. It was the same with Martin Jol. It made sense for us to approach him.”

Managing nicely

Steve Bruce’s managerial record

July 1998-May 1999,
Sheffield United
Joined as a player-manager but left after only season, claiming that he had been let down by the board

May 1999-Oct 2000,
Huddersfield Town
Dismissed when his team dropped to the bottom of the third tier after losing away to Grimsby Town

April 2001-May 2001,
Wigan Athletic
Managed for eight games without signing a contract before Simon Jordan, the Crystal Palace chairman, made his move

May 2001-Nov 2001,
Crystal Palace
Walked out after four months to replace Trevor Francis at St Andrew’s, but not before Jordan put him on gardening leave and took him to court

Dec 2001-Nov 2007,
Birmingham City
Goes back to Wigan after being offered £2 million a year over four years, though completion delayed