Steve Bruce has yet to taste victory as a manager of an opposing team at Old Trafford and he does not rate his chances of ending that sequence this evening should Sir Alex Ferguson include Ryan Giggs in his plans to face Wigan Athletic.

Despite Cristiano Ronaldo being crowned Fifa World Player of the Year on Monday, Bruce believes that Giggs would pose a bigger threat to his team. Like 72,000 Manchester United supporters at Old Trafford last Sunday, the Wigan manager was transfixed by the 35-year-old Welshman's performance in midfield during the 3-0 win against Chelsea.

Bruce was in his office at the JJB Stadium, winding down after his side's 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, and could not take his eyes off the television as Giggs ran circles around Luiz Felipe Scolari's team. Bruce is keeping his fingers crossed that Ferguson rests Giggs this evening, otherwise the former United captain fears a fifth successive defeat at the venue of many of his past glories.

“His performance against Chelsea was awesome,” Bruce said of his former United team-mate. “Giggs has been there, done it and got the T-shirt, yet he played with the enthusiasm of an 18-year-old. All those prima-donna players and big-time Charlies, who think they are good players, should look at Ryan. If they did, then they might be a little bit more humble. He has to be one of United's greatest players of all time. To go from the age of 17 to 35 at a club like Manchester United, where you have to cope with the demands week in, week out, it's scary. It'll never be done again.”

Bruce spent nine years at Old Trafford, in which time he won three league titles, three FA Cups, a European Cup Winners' Cup and a League Cup. He suspects the title could well be staying there after last weekend's crushing performance. “They are well placed in the table and history tells you that they always come strong in the second half of the season,” Bruce said.

Wilson Palacios will play this evening after Bruce denied that Tottenham had made an offer for the Honduras midfield player. “Ideally I would like to have had five or six days to prepare the team for Old Trafford,” Bruce said. “The Tottenham game took a lot out of my players, but the thought of trying to freshen the team up doesn't come into my head. How do I tell a player who has been playing well that I'm going to leave him out against Manchester United? He would rip my head off.”