Contests are about contexts. In normal circumstances Wigan would be proud of matching Chelsea and Tottenham in consecutive meetings, both for football and in terms of the result. The drop, however, changes dynamics and Steve Bruce’s team made for the dressing room with anxiety tempering the applause.

The cold facts of this week are that two good performances have yielded just a pair of points for Bruce’s men at a time others have been making ground. Bolton’s second successive win closed the gap between Wigan and the relegation zone and Saturday’s home game with Reading takes on a suddenly portentous air.

Not that Bruce should worry too much if his players continue performing like this. Tottenham, with little to play for, none-the-less put something into the game and their flair, finesse and fluency had to be withstood.

Wigan did this in an open and even start and became the better team as the game wore on. It was a surprise, after early strikes from Dimitar Berbatov and Emile Heskey, that there were not further goals but composure eluded, particularly, Jermaine Jenas and Marcus Bent, the latter limping off with a painful looking injury sustained while attempting an overhead kick.

A cold breeze chilled the JJB stadium and its surface was balding and rutted, a result of hosting rugby league. Locals goaded the fans from London and Tottenham played up to the role of southern softies cast for them by turning up with two star players, Berbatov and Aaron Lennon, wearing gloves. The first half, accordingly, was one of delicacy versus grit. It was entertaining and ended in parity, with both sides feeling they should have been ahead.

Spurs struck first, with a gorgeous goal. Tom Huddlestone, a painter built like a builder, spread a brushstroke on the canvas with one of his long, pinpoint passes, finding Lennon across a distance of 40 yards. Lennon’s sprint past Kevin Kilbane was electric, his cross near perfect, curved between Chris Kirkland and his defence, and Berbatov arrived late to knock a casual volley into the net. It looked so easy, and when Lennon jinked down the centre of the pitch and found Steed Malbranque in the area – a fraction too late for Malbranque to gain adequate shooting space – you feared for Wigan. Robbie Keane then hoisted a shot into the stands when he could have tested Kirkland. Just seven minutes had gone.

But Wigan, since Steve Bruce arrived, have been forthright and resilient and were not to be discouraged. There was a deep growl of approval among supporters as Kilbane crunched through a 50-50 with Keane and the sound turned to one of excitement when Kilbane delivered the ball to Heskey in the area after making ground. benefiting from a slight piece of miscontrol which threw Didier Zokora, Heskey turned and his shot past Radek Cerny was precise.

Not for the first time when watching Heskey, it was difficult to understand how such a sometimes-unstoppable striker can be so unproductive overall. It was only the big man’s fourth goal of the season and 12th in a 60-game Wigan career.

The pattern remained: Spurs stayed the smoother, Wigan retained the greater snap in their play. Another of their players charged through a tackle – Marcus Bent versus Alan Hutton – and created a good position. Bent, going alone, shot tamely at Cerny. Wilson Palacios did better when Bent teed him up but again Cerny saved. Michael Brown, meanwhile, was embarrassed when he took a fresh-air swipe when given a scoring opportunity by Heskey’s knockdown.

Spurs had a flurry in the moments before half-time, Jermaine Jenas wasting a good situation by making the wrong decision on the counter-attack, and Mario Melchiot and Ryan Taylor making goalmouth clearances as the visitors pressed at set-pieces.

Palacios had been lively and neat but took his game to another level in the second period. With Huddlestone fading and Jenas not playing that brightly in the first place, the Honduran’s supremacy among the central midfielders gave Wigan the advantage. Fed by Brown, Palacios rolled a lovely pass between Michael Dawson and Zokora to send Bent clear and just a little bit of guile was required to beat Cerny. Instead, Bent traded accuracy for power and rammed an unnecessarily firm shot against the bar.

Twice, Luis Antonio Valencia threatened, Cerny spilling his shot on one of those occasions but recovering to save at Heskey’s feet. Tottenham, though quieter, could still pose dangers and Kirkland had to smother when Lennon advanced. Jenas, after a fluent passing move, shot high and wide. Bruce used all his substitutes but could not force a winner. Victory against plummeting Reading would be sufficient for survival but, for all the good work, Wigan cannot relax until the league table says they can.

Star man: Wilson Palacios (Wigan)

Wigan: Kirkland 8, Melchiot 7, Boyce 7, Scharner 6, Taylor 6 (Koumas 81min), Kilbane 6, Valencia 6, Palacios 8, Brown 6, Bent 6 (King 84min), Heskey 6 (Sibierski 76min)

Tottenham: Cerny 7, Hutton 6, Dawson 7, Zokora 6, O’Hara 6, Lennon 6, Huddlestone 6, Jenas 5, Malbranque 6, Keane 5 (Bent 72min), Berbatov 7

Scorers: Wigan: Heskey 12 Tottenham: Berbatov 6
Yellow card: Wigan: Valencia, Palacios
Referee: L Probert
Attendance: 18,673