Megson issues Bolton warning

Villa thumping still rankles for Trotters boss

By Ben Collins   Last updated: 21st November 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Megson issues Bolton warning

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Gary Megson has told his Bolton players they will be lucky to keep their place against Blackburn on Sunday.

Megson is still angered by his side's dismal 5-1 defeat at Aston Villa a fortnight ago, which meant the Trotters have conceded 15 goals in their last five league games.

The Bolton boss is determined to stop the rot and has warned that only goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen should expect to remain in the starting line-up for Sunday's derby clash.

"The Villa defeat will rankle for a long time," he said.

"Whatever team it turns out to be on Sunday, Jussi is the only one who could say it is out of order if he is not playing.

Fortunate

"Everyone else who plays against Blackburn can consider themselves fortunate, in my book."

The Villa defeat surprised Megson as although Bolton had been leaky at the back, he had been encouraged by their recent performances.

Megson's men had frustrated Chelsea before the league leaders cut loose late on to win 4-0, and Bolton's previous two home games saw a 3-2 win over Everton and a 2-2 draw against Tottenham.

"I had been pleased with the way we performed against Chelsea and Manchester United," he said.

"I was also delighted with our displays against Everton and Tottenham.

Constant scrutiny

"We are in exactly the same position as we were in last season and we went on to finish 13th, without doing well in our last six games. We want to try to improve on that.

"I would like to see us judged at the end of the season but everyone in football is judged all the time. We are under constant scrutiny."

Full-back Paul Robinson is most likely to make way for Bolton as Jlloyd Samuel is available again after suspension, while Megson will monitor the fitness of midfielder Tamir Cohen (groin).