Steve Bruce is confident Hugo Rodallega will be a hit at Wigan Athletic Football Club.

The Columbian international has started just twice since his £4.5million January move from Necaxa, but Bruce is confident his patient approach will eventually pay off.

"We've had Hugo up our sleeves for a while," Bruce told the Evening Post. "I want to play him, but I knew we needed to get some basics into him before starting him regularly.

"The first thing was for him to get used to being here. I could easily have thrown Hugo in at the deep end but he would have been right up against it and the pressure would have been on.

"Instead we have given him time to settle, get used to it, and that is paying off. By the end of the season he'll be fully settled. Then he can come back and have a proper pre-season with us.

"I'm thinking we've got a very good. Hugo is a clever player, he can finish, the lad hasn't scored yet but he's gone close, very close. Once he gets a goal, he'll be all right.”