Whelan not racist, says ex-Wigan boss Bruce

Whelan attracted criticism this week after appointing Malky Mackay as Wigan's new manager, with the Scot still under investigation from the Football Association (FA) over text messages he exchanged with then-Cardiff City head of recruitment Iain Moody, which he admitted were "disrespectful of other cultures".

Whelan then exacerbated the situation when, in an interview with The Guardian, he reportedly said there was not "a lot wrong" with anything Mackay had said in the messages.

The 77-year-old also referred to Jewish people as "chasing money more than everybody else", comments that he subsequently apologised for.

But Hull City boss Bruce, who twice worked under Whelan at Wigan, stated that he had never experienced any such remarks in his time at the DW Stadium.

"I know him very, very well and I don't really want to get into the debate," Bruce said on Friday.

"Maybe sitting on the fence might be easiest thing to do but I've worked under Dave Whelan twice. He is without question one of the best chairmen I've worked for.

"What you see is what you get. There's no racism in him at all. Sometimes words can be said which can be misplaced, they can be out there in the public domain, but certainly when I've worked with him there's been no sign of racism.

"It's a big brave decision by him [to appoint Mackay] but he thinks that's the best thing for his football club. Being Dave he'll be single minded enough to see that through."