Bruce did however leave on good terms with the chairman who said: "I would like to say thank-you to Steve. He has done a fantastic job for Wigan. We are sorry to lose him and we wish him every success at the Stadium of Light.
"If people want to leave my club, it's a free world and they have to be allowed to do that. He's done a brilliant job for Wigan and now we've got to move on and get a new manager. He's a great manager and he'll do a fantastic job for Sunderland."
A compensation figure believed to be for the £3 million that the Latics paid to Birmingham for Bruce is said to have been agreed.
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