Megson hails improving Trotters

18 October 2009 15:24
Megson is about to celebrate two years at the Reebok Stadium, most of which has been spent battling supporter unrest while trying to generate positive results from a team perennially punching above their weight. At the end of last term, Megson offered a dire warning that the Trotters faced relegation unless they strengthened significantly. And although Wanderers lost their five-match unbeaten record at Old Trafford, they proved the words had been heeded, even if the tag of long-ball merchants is proving hard to shake off. "We have improved," said Megson. "It makes us smirk a little bit though because other managers still talk about us being a big, physical team and how good we are at set pieces. "In truth, we have been bitterly disappointed with our defending in that area. "When you look at people like Matt Taylor, Ricardo Gardner and Lee Chung-Yong, we are actually not that kind of team. "We look a lot better, although we must not throw the baby out with the bath water. In Kevin Davies and Ivan Klasnic, we have players who can cause teams a lot of problems. "The problem was we tried to 'out-Manchester United' Manchester United in their own backyard during the first half and it just doesn't work." If Gary Cahill had been able to steer his last-gasp header past Edwin van der Sar, Bolton really would have had something to celebrate. As someone now on the fringes of Fabio Capello's World Cup plans, Cahill is the shining star of Megson's squad. However, the international break did unearth other issues that Megson has vowed to address when the Premier League next grinds to a halt in the middle of next month. "For small clubs like ourselves, these international breaks are a disaster," he said. "Tamir Cohen was nothing like the player that went away and Chung was a shadow of his previous self. "The travelling they have done has had an impact and we will have to look at changing the team next time it happens, regardless of form."

Source: Team_Talk