Bolton boss Owen Coyle has warned he will bomb out his under-performing senior players to save the Trotters from Premier League relegation.
Eighth home defeat leaves Trotters manager with bad taste
Bolton boss Owen Coyle has warned he will bomb out his under-performing senior players to save the Trotters from Premier League relegation.
Individual mistakes have blighted a woeful first half of the campaign for the second-bottom Trotters and were to blame again for the 2-0 home defeat by Newcastle on Boxing Day.
Defensive errors allowed Hatem Ben Arfa and Demba Ba to condemn Bolton to their eighth loss of the season at the Reebok.
And Coyle is ready to wield the axe ahead of a must-win encounter against Wolves on New Year's Eve.
Character
"It leaves a bad taste but it's got to the point where the same people are not going to make the same mistakes," he said.
"If I have got one or two coming back from injury and young kids ready to play then so be it.
"I have tried to play a few of them through it, I have tried to leave them out and then bring them back in.
"If they are not responding to it then the bottom line is I need players who are going to go in with the character and the resilience and the belief not to be making mistakes."
Coyle still believes Wanderers can climb out of the relegation zone and they may be able to do that by beating 17th placed Wolves at the Reebok.
And he has told his players in no uncertain terms that they must step up their performance against Mick McCarthy's men.
Deliver
"We still have players who should be performing better than they are," said Coyle.
"I am not talking about young kids but course and distance guys who have done it.
"When we came in we inherited a squad of very experienced players, who are now two years older than when we came in at the bottom of the table.
"I have managed to get a song and a tune out of them up to this point. Maybe now there are one or two not up to delivering that and, if that's the case, they are not going to play in our team, that's for sure."
