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Defender deal hopes for Bruce
Wigan Athletic, 10:13, July 14, 2008 ,
Wigan boss Steve Bruce remains cautiously optimistic he can persuade Paul Scharner to sign a new long-term deal.
The Austrian defender has 12 months to run on his contract but has been consistently linked with a move to Fulham for the last year.
But Bruce is hoping the pre-season trip to Austria will allow talks to progress after the boss credited Scharner's defensive performances last season as a major factor in Premier League survival.
Bruce told the Evening Post: "We have been talking to Paul and I hope we are close to a deal.
"Probably an ideal time to speak more is when we're in Austria - we can throw him off the side of a mountain if he doesn't sign!"
He added: "I really hope we can keep him. When we moved Paul back into the defence last season, he was a major factor in why we did so well.
"He is a very good player and has done extremely well at Latics - that is why we want to tie up a deal for him.
"We'll do whatever we possibly can, and I think we are closer to agreeing something than we were a couple of months ago.
"There's still a couple of small things we need to agree on."