by Michael Baggaley

EITHER Wiganers are more interested in pies than even the old jokes suggest, or Steve Bruce's side have had a few games like this.

While journalists sucked their pens or banged their foreheads on their laptops in search of inspiration after an uneventful opening 45 minutes, eyes were drawn to a series of 'Trivia of the Day' notices which had been stuck to the walls of the press room.

Trivia number one: Which was the first country to provide four different clubs to reach European Cup semi-finals? Answer: Scotland.

Trivia number two: Did you know that Sir Walter Raleigh didn't really introduce the popular pie-filling of potato to the British Isles?

Sorry if you feel like you've been cornered by the pub bore.

That was pretty much the complaint of the national hacks who had been sent to the game, in search of entertainment or a bloodbath, after feasting richly on Arsene Wenger's hysterical rant about 'cowardly, dirty' Stoke.

Wenger's whingeing had dominated the week and, truth be told, was a last ride on the Corkscrew without the safety harness compared to parts of this contest.

Still, managers talking common sense can also be interesting so, after a better second half, Latics boss Steve Bruce offered a much fairer assessment of Stoke's style.

That was despite bearing the air of a man who had been trying to phone his bank, only to have to spend 90 minutes on hold listening to Greensleeves.

Did he think Stoke had tried to kick his side out of the game? 'No, not at all'.

Did he have any complaints about Stoke's physical approach? 'No, and my side gave as good as they got.'

What's more, Bruce had nothing but respect for Stoke's tactics of getting eight men, at least, behind the ball and challenging Wigan to break them down.

"We have done it ourselves before," he said.

"We have been fighting relegation for two years here. We have been in the bottom three or four and so made it difficult for teams to play against us and made ourselves hard to beat.

"You have to go out and try to beat them, and Tony has them well drilled.

"I wouldn't say they are exciting to watch, but if I was one of the 3,000 or so Stoke fans travelling back down the road, I would be thinking my team has given everything they have got.

"Yes, they might not be the most skilful or exciting team to watch, but by Christ, they can roll their sleeves up, have a go and make it difficult. And they have an outstanding chance of staying up."

Bruce's views were fair enough based on Saturday's stalemate, but anyone who has seen City's six games at the Britannia Stadium has not gone short of entertainment.

Stoke have deservedly won four of those games, should also have got something against Everton, and have only been outplayed by Chelsea.

They have found life much tougher on the road, picking up just one point from a possible 15 before Saturday's match, so it is understandable why priorities number one, two and three were not to concede.

Tony Pulis denied his team had only come for a point, but said his squad is still evolving into one capable of winning regularly on the road.

He said: "The disappointing thing, and what we have to take on, is about that little bit of quality that you need.

"We had four or five great opportunities to break and pull away, but the final pass or the decision just wasn't good enough in that respect.

"But the work rate, the effort and the commitment to throw themselves in front of challenges and crosses was absolutely first class.

"Thomas Sorensen made two good saves, but if you can go away in the Premier League and keep the opposition down to two shots, then that's not bad."

Stoke created even less, but if it was all about playing great football, the 15,881 Stoke and Wigan fans would have stayed in their armchairs to watch Arsenal play Manchester United on Sky.

Pulis's job is to keep Stoke up and, as he has led the team to mid-table after the opening 12 games, he's doing a fine job.

City deserved their fans' rousing support and standing ovation after a gritty team effort from the ice-cool Sorensen through to the more temperamental Ricardo Fuller.

The striker did appear to blot his copybook by apparently making an offensive gesture towards the Wigan supporters. But, as Greater Manchester Police received no complaints immediately after the game, perhaps the home fans were grateful to him for helping keep them awake.

Despite Sorensen and Fuller's efforts, it is no surprise that, in a game short of goalmouth incident, City's outstanding players were central midfielder Salif Diao and central defender Abdoulaye Faye.

The only time Faye looked ruffled was when Dave Kitson bravely began a row with him after the striker conceded possession on 72 minutes.

Some have speculated that Kitson is unhappy at Stoke, but no one suspected he was actually suicidal.

Goodness knows what Kitson said, but Faye had to be restrained by Diao and then Ryan Shawcross while Kitson wisely cleared off out of the way. Shawcross's role as peacemaker was typical of the saintly performance he summoned after his booking for a 10th-minute foul on Emile Heskey.

He knew he was walking a tightrope after that, but responded with an intelligent display which must come as some surprise to a certain manager who reckons the dirty, cynical stuff is more his game.

Trivia number three: Stoke's three bookings at the JJB were exactly the same number as Arsenal picked up in their win over Manchester United.

You could probably get a Humble Pie in Wigan. They're not so popular at the Emirates apparently.