Heskey claimed an embarrassing tally of just four goals last season but the England striker continues to be linked with rival clubs.

"It would take a hell on an offer to let him go but I've not heard anything from anyone and I don't envisage anything happening at this late stage," said Bruce ahead of the closure of the transfer window on September 1.

Heskey did little against spirited League Two opposition and was replaced by Amr Zaki at half-time.

The real star of the show was Senegal striker Henri Camara, who breathed life into his faltering career with his first goals in 20 months.

Camara, 31, spent the whole of last season on loan at West Ham but failed to score a single goal in a nightmare campaign.

The nomadic forward returned to the JJB Stadium in the summer and was told he was welcome to stay and fight for his place by Bruce.

Camara took full advantage of his first start of the season by netting with a superb 32nd-minute opener to shatter the resistance of spirited but limited League Two opposition.

He scored again with a clinical header in the 62nd minute - two minutes after Zaki had made the game safe with a close-range tap-in.

Bruce said: "I have seen Camara play against my teams in the past and score against us.

"I didn't even know what was happening with him in the summer but he's now here for another year and I'm sure he's got a part to play.

"He complements my other strikers like Heskey and Antoine Sibierski and he gives me something different."

Substitute Tomasz Kupisz added a fourth in the last minute and Wigan could even afford to play out the closing stages with 10 men due to injuries and having already made three substitutions.

Camara was not alone in capitalising on his opportunity; Daniel de Ridder, Michael Brown and Kevin Kilbane also made their mark as Bruce made six changes from the side which lost 1-0 at home to Chelsea on Sunday.

Bruce - looking ahead to Saturday's trip to Hull - said: "It gives us confidence going into the Hull game and a few of the lads have taken their chances well.

"They have done it right and they have done it properly."

Bruce added that goalkeeper Chris Kirkland could return from a back injury to feature at the KC Stadium this weekend.

Magpies boss Ian McParland said: "To be fair we rested a few of our players and that's no disrespect to Wigan, but the league is our bread and butter and what matters is our game against Shrewsbury this weekend.

"Wigan are a very good team and if you live in the real world then you're not going to come up here and beat them.

"But I'm very proud of the boys and Russell Hoult made a number of fine saves. I'm hopeful that, with the right backing, we can build a real infrastructure to move forward and progress."