Megson insists Boro not gone

Megson: Points to Bolton escape

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Bolton manager Gary Megson believes those already writing off Middlesbrough's survival hopes are way off the mark.

Boro lie four points adrift of safety with eight games remaining and will be looking to improve on a wretched run of just one win in 18 league games when they visit Bolton on Saturday.

Many pundits reckon the Teessiders are dead and buried but Megson believes those predictions are somewhat premature.

"Middlesbrough have not gone at all - nowhere near gone - and if they beat us they are right back in it," he said.

"They have got some real top quality players up there.

Assumptions

"People make an assumption that this will happen and that will happen but it doesn't work out like that.

"Middlesbrough beat Liverpool recently and I don't think many people expected that. It's far from over."

Boro's last away win came at Aston Villa on 9th November but Megson has pointed to Bolton's flirtation with relegation last season as proof Gareth Southgate's men can survive.

Bolton looked doomed at the start of April after a 4-0 defeat at Villa left them four points adrift with just five games remaining.

But Megson steered the Trotters to three wins and two draws to secure their top-flight status.

"Ourselves and Fulham were deemed to be relegated at this time last year," he recalled.

Doubters wrong

"People looked at us with five games and it was openly out there that Bolton had gone. Those people were wrong.

"We took 11 points from the last 15 and we hadn't done anything like that in previous games last season.

"The consensus of opinion was that Derby, Fulham and ourselves would get relegated, but two of us got out of it, so there is still everything to play for with every club down there at the moment."

Although Bolton have steered clear of trouble for most of the current campaign, they are by no means safe yet as just five points separate them and third-bottom Newcastle.

"The relegation issue is between nine clubs at the moment, from West Brom up to ourselves, and we want to try to get out of that relegation area as soon as we can," Megson added.

"At the moment I don't think there's a single club in the entire Premier League who has not got something to play for with eight games to go.

"We cannot set a points target because we don't know what the points target is, but we're certainly better off now than where we were at this stage last season."