Bruce’s big win sees off all the old nightmares

For Taylor, the victim of a witch-hunt after breaking Eduardo's left leg in a game against Arsenal six weeks ago, there was a long-awaited return to action and some degree of normality.

Mike Dean, the referee who sent off the amiable centreback at St Andrew's that day, made a point of shaking Taylor's hand and offering him some words of support in the pre-match warm-up.

Not long afterwards Dean was brandishing the red card again, this time to Taylor's captain Damien Johnson for an idiotic lunge at Wigan's Kevin Kilbane. Taylor can feel aggrieved that he was vilified for his challenge on Eduardo but there was far more aggression in Johnson's wild attempt to win the ball than anything Taylor showed the Arsenal striker.

But at least he can look forward to moving on with a career that Arsene Wenger demanded to be halted in the heated aftermath of the Eduardo incident — which the Arsenal manager quickly retracted.

"Obviously I was shocked at the time," said Taylor. "But hopefully now everyone can see it for what it was. When you get back playing, the manager had to make sure I was 100 per cent focused on the game. Hopefully, mentally I'm absolutely fine to carry on now.

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

"My team-mates have been really good. They've seen me every day and they just keep me concentrating on my football. And the fans have been great all along. To come out and have them shout my name was very encouraging — it gave me a little buzz before the game.

"I didn't realise it was the same referee until I saw him out on the pitch, but he's been really good. He just shook my hand and said he hoped it would go all right."

It has to be said, Taylor's return did not go particularly smoothly. He gave away the ball and was then outpaced by Antonio Valencia in the 15th minute to set up the first of two goals for Ryan Taylor and he came off with a groin injury 18 minutes from the end.

Birmingham were already struggling to contain Wigan before Johnson's departure eight minutes before half-time and Ryan Taylor's second goal from close-range in the 55th minute was the least Bruce's side deserved for a performance he described as the best since his acrimonious departure from the Midlands last November.

Bruce steered clear of a reunion with his old bosses David Sullivan and David Gold in the boardroom, but few would have begrudged him if he had gloated. A total of 34 points puts Wigan eight clear of the relegation zone with five games remaining while Birmingham are still sweating over their Barclays Premier League future.

'I signed 95 per cent of that Birmingham team and they would have wanted to turn me over big time today, but we blew them away in the first 35 minutes,' said Bruce. 'We're not safe yet; 38 points has always been the yardstick. But 35 might be enough.'

Ryan Taylor was another man relieved to put the past behind him on Saturday, with his goals making up for a penalty miss at Portsmouth the previous week.

Taylor revealed that Bruce had called him in for a chat before training on Friday to lift his spirits and it certainly had the desired effect.

'You don't know what the manager is going to say to you,' said Taylor. 'But he just gave me a big confidence boost, saying everyone misses penalties and to go out and do the business.