Bruce is stoked up for Wearside.

Rival managers Steve Bruce and Sam Allardyce had no complaints after last night's Premiership clash between Birmingham and Bolton at St Andrew's was postponed because of fog.

Referee Phil Dowd made the decision after a second inspection of the ground an hour before the scheduled 8pm kick-off.

Fog had shrouded the ground for most of the day and, although there were signs of it temporarily lifting, Dowd had no choice in postponing the match.

Blues manager Bruce said: "It is frustrating because we have worked so hard in preparing for this game for the past fortnight.

"But the conditions caused by the fog meant there was absolutely no chance of it going ahead and the ref was right to call it off.

"It will be three weeks come Saturday at Sunderland since we have last played and the lads will be chomping at the bit even more to play."

Bolton boss Allardyce added: "It's a shame what has happened, but the referee got his decision absolutely right.

"The fog would have made it impossible for officials to make their decisions because of the impaired vision caused by the weather.

"We've had 17 days off, with only three of our players being involved in international fixtures, so everyone was eager to play.

"We've had some great preparation time but there's nothing you can do when fog comes down like that."

Dowd said: "You couldn't see across the pitch and to me that means you are not going to play.

"There was a lot on the game for both clubs so you have got to be realistic when making a decision.

"The pitch was in great condition but the visibility was not good enough. It was not feasible to play.

"We also took into consideration the fact the supporters would not be able to see."

Birmingham skipper Kenny Cunningham said: "It's frustrating but I'm not a great fan of Monday games. The weekend passes by and you are playing catch-up.

"It's not ideal because we had a few players coming back from injury. It would have been nice for them to get some minutes under their belts.

"But we've got a reserve-team fixture against Liverpool on Tuesday so maybe there will be an opportunity for a few of them to have a run out in that game."