It was a day full of surprises for Martin Taylor at the JJB Stadium. The first one came as the Birmingham City defender was lining up in the tunnel before the match, only to discover that the referee was the one who had sent him off six weeks earlier for his tackle that broke the leg of Eduardo da Silva, the Arsenal and Croatia striker.

Mike Dean surprised Taylor by going out of his way to shake his hand before the start of this crucial relegation game. Then the 28-year-old received a welcoming arm around the shoulder from Steve Bruce, the Wigan Athletic manager, before walking out to a huge ovation from a 5,000-strong army of fans who had made the journey from the West Midlands.

It was a far cry from the condemnation from Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president, and the death threats that had turned Birmingham’s strapping No 4 into public enemy No 1. “I can’t remember exactly what he [Dean] said, but he just shook my hand and said something along the lines of: ‘I hope it all goes all right,’ ” Taylor said. “I didn’t realise until I saw him out on the pitch, but he’s been really good.”

Dean was again forced to reach for a red card, but this time it was Damien Johnson, the Birmingham captain, after his dreadful challenge on Kevin Kilbane after 50 minutes.

Wigan were already leading after a lapse of concentration by Taylor, who ended the match with a groin strain. Yet there was relief etched on Taylor’s face after the match at the end of the most traumatic six weeks of his life.

“From everything I’ve heard, he [Eduardo] is on track and hopefully he can get back playing as soon as possible and everyone will feel a lot better for that,” Taylor said.

“Things will keep getting compared and if there’s a few tackles flying about it all becomes a big talking point again. I accept that and maybe something else will crop up and will be the next major thing and everyone will move on. You just have to get on with it and look forward rather than back.”

This was the sweetest of victories for Bruce. He spent a total of eight years at St Andrew’s as a player and a manager yet departed in acrimonious circumstances last November, so much so that he ignored the Birmingham hierarchy on Saturday.

While Birmingham’s future in the top tier remains in doubt, Wigan look safe after Ryan Taylor scored twice to make up for his penalty miss in the defeat away to Portsmouth seven days earlier. They are eight points clear of Bolton, who are third bottom and winless in eight matches, with five games to play. Bruce, however, remains cautious. “We’re not safe yet,” he said. “Don’t forget, we’ve got a nice easy one next at Chelsea.”

Wigan Athletic (4-4-2): C Kirkland 7 – M Melchiot 7, P Scharner 7, E Boyce 7, K Kilbane 7 – L A Valencia 8, J Skoko (sub: M Figueroa, 90min), W Palacios, R Taylor 9 (sub: A Sibierski, 84) – M Bent 7, E Heskey 7 (sub: M King, 87). Substitutes not used: M Pollitt, E Hagen. Next: Chelsea (a).

Birmingham City (4-4-2): Maik Taylor 6 – S Kelly 5, Martin Taylor 5 (sub: S Parnaby, 71), R Jaidi 5, D Murphy 4 – S Larsson 5, F Muamba 5, D Johnson 4, G McSheffrey 5 (sub: M Nafti, 62 4) – M Zárate 6, M Forssell 5 (sub: C Jerome, 65 4). Substitutes not used: C Doyle, G O’Connor. Booked: Jaidi, Murphy. Next: Everton (h).