Current Bury boss Chris Brass said of Hutchings: "Chris is an old friend who has come in to give me a hand with training. It's a busy time for the club and he is here purely as a favour to me. It's simply a case of an old mate helping me out."
There are rumours that Hutchings is set to become the next boss at Gigg Lane after this appointment, but Brass has stressed that the former Latics manager is there in an advisory role only.
Meantime, Jason Koumas is being linked with a £5 million switch to Celtic or Blackburn Rovers. The Welsh international midfielder has not featured heavily since the appointment of Bruce who favours a swap deal involving Rovers' Irish midfielder Steven Reid.
Birmingham midfielder Olivier Kapo is also being linked with the JJB. The former Juventus midfielder has already scored against the Latics once this season but could now join the ranks in a move said to be worth £3 million.
However the player himself has stressed that he is happy at St Andrews and is not looking to move. He said: "I am confident about our team. We have a good manager and staff, we have good players.
"I like the city, my family is happy, it's good here. There are no problems. I don't want to move. The most important thing for me is that we win games because now, the situation isn't the best. It's good for me (the speculation) but I play for Birmingham. I have signed for three years and I like it here."