The centre-half has, down the years, earned a reputation for making costly mistakes, with a five-year spell at Newcastle hardly helping his cause.

However, having been touted as one of the most exciting prospects in the country during his early days at Ipswich, Bramble certainly has talent.

That potential has resurfaced since he swapped life under the St James' Park microscope for the more subdued surroundings of the JJB Stadium in 2007, and Bruce believes his towering defender is finally looking back to his best.

"Titus has taken some stick over the years, particularly when he was playing for Newcastle," Bruce told the Manchester Evening News. "But he was spot on back there last weekend (scoring a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw) just as he was against Liverpool and at Portsmouth recently.

"He has been terrific of late and it was great to see him score that header.

"We deserved something from the game."

Wigan were captained against the Magpies on Saturday by Lee Cattermole, and the former Middlesbrough man was delighted to see his team-mate put one over on his former foes.

"It was absolutely brilliant for Titus to score because he'd obviously got a few jeers from the home fans during the game," said the midfielder.

"He had the last laugh, though, and good on him. But we ribbed him in the dressing room. Saying it was a Damien Duff own goal.

"There are some strong characters in our side and we bounced back quickly to equalise. Having gone down to 10 men it was harsh. The referee got it wrong and I think that was clear to see.

"The sending-off of Emerson Boyce was a joke. He'll now miss the Everton game and I'm disappointed. He clearly got the ball when he made the challenge. We have the Respect campaign but the referee has got this one wrong."