Coyle staying grounded

Coyle: Staying grounded

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Owen Coyle is keeping his feet firmly on the ground despite successive Premier League victories for Bolton.

The 2-1 defeat of West Ham at the weekend followed a 1-0 triumph over Wolves, leaving the Trotters five points above the relegation zone.

Bolton's position in the table now looks far healthier as they prepare to take on Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday.

But Coyle, who secured his first ever away win in the top flight at Upton Park, insists there is still work to be done.

"It's always nice to win matches, but there is certainly no leaping about," he said.

"We've won two games back-to-back and it's given us six valuable points, but that's all it is.

"We have got so much hard work ahead of us, starting at Sunderland, and we have to be at our best, as we have been in our last couple of games, to go and earn points.

"We are delighted to get those points on the board, but we are certainly not getting carried away."

In reality, Bolton could have scored more against the Hammers although Gianfranco Zola's men were denied an injury-time equaliser when Junior Stanislas rattled the crossbar.

Valuable

"It was a valuable three points (against West Ham) on the back of the Wolves victory and it elevated us up the league slightly, but we are under no illusions how quickly football can change," Coyle added.

"We are pleased to get the win and I always felt it was coming anyway given the level of performance we were offering up, and we showed that from the first whistle.

"But it is behind us, we can't affect it, and what we can affect is what's in front of us.

"We have got a massive game now at Sunderland, a quality side with some top players, and a magnificent stadium with a great set of supporters.

"We all accept that they have been on an indifferent run, but there is no doubt that Steve Bruce is a top-class manager."