Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan backed Steve Bruce up in his scathing criticism of Amr Zaki, who has been accused of being persistently indisciplined. The Egypt striker was on international duty of late, and he failed to rejoin the Latics in time for no apparent reason. Subsequently, Bruce, who used to heap praise on Zaki early this term, said he got fed up with the irresponsibility of robust striker, before Whelan expressed his support to the infuriated coach. "I will back Steve Bruce absolutely to the hilt," Whelan told Sky Sports News. "Whatever penalty he wants Zaki to pay this time, if he cancels his contract, I am absolutely 100 per cent behind him." Whelan pointed out that for a player who's eager to earn a permanent deal at the JJB Stadium, the 26-year-old is noticeably reckless, saying such an unprofessional demeanor could well result in his departure. "Steve will not be messed about by anyone. Zaki is only on loan and he's desperate to get a contract with us so for him not to return for the third or fourth time is unbelievable," the club president added. "If he behaves like this, he is going to find it very, very difficult to have a future at Wigan Athletic." Furthermore, Whelan cited Zaki's dip in form as a reason for the club to be much less patient with his apathy. "He has not scored any goals for the last two months, ten weeks or so," he said. "He gets a little bit frustrated and instead of listening to somebody like Steve Bruce who can help him and push him along, he decides to go along on his own route and in cases like this it is absolutely unforgivable."
Bruce Early this season, Zaki had a brilliant start to his Wigan career, but couldn't maintain his goal-scoring form. He has been struggling to find the net in the Premier League since the turn of the year, after scoring 10 goals in the elite competition. Disrespectful Wigan assistant manager Eric Black echoed Bruce's statements and went on about how inconvenient Zaki's attitude is. "Most of the players were told to report back and certainly he was meant to be back on Monday," he said. "He (Zaki) was meant to be back on Monday, obviously that hasn't materialized and we will just have to wait and see when he does return. "We had initial contact about the hamstring injury after the game and obviously we have spoken to Mido, who arrived back on Monday, so we are led to believe he has a hamstring injury and he is being treated for that, but that's as much as we know at the moment." On whether the on-loan Zamalek hitman should have returned to Wigan for treatment, Black commented: "In an ideal scenario that is the way we would go forward with it. "Sometimes we do allow them to stay in their own country to have treatment, obviously when permission has been given, but that has not been the case. "I think his (Bruce's) statement would suggest he is far from happy and I can fully understand and agree with what he is saying. "It is pretty disrespectful to the group and to the manager and to the club and to the supporters so the manager has obviously dealt with it in the right manner."
