Steinsson: Praise due to Megson

14 May 2009 15:45
Less than 12 months ago Wanderers were battling for top-flight survival but a year on they have secured their future for an eighth successive season. However, that has still not been enough to impress some fans at the Reebok Stadium, who remember the relative success they enjoyed under Sam Allardyce. But Steinsson - signed by Megson from AZ Alkmaar for £3.5million in January 2008 - insists things have to be put into perspective. "Gary has done a fantastic job here at Bolton," said the Iceland international. "When I came here the place was a mess basically and there were a lot of negative things going on. "Since then we turned it around in a short period of time. Gary has done well, even though he has had his criticism. "I think we need to look at the big picture money-wise and how big we are and in which league we are. "We need to curtail the negativity and be positive." Steinsson said the club, with the smallest squad in the Premier League, had achieved plenty in comparison with some of their rivals. "If you look at the firepower which the clubs around us have - Sunderland, Newcastle, Middlesbrough even Blackburn - you see a lot of big names we could use," he added. "They have a lot of firepower and have spent a lot of money and they are still struggling. "When you look at that you can look at our season as a successful one." Megson has remained unmoved in the face of criticism all season. "You are not in it for credit or yourself, you are in there to get the results your club needs," he said. "Whatever goes on after that is neither here nor there. If credit is due anywhere it has to go to the players. "Football clubs are about a lot of things - managers, staff, coaches, directors, supporters - but none of it matters if you don't have a good playing squad. "Any credit going anywhere has to go to those people." Bolton finally reached the psychological milestone of 40 points with a goalless draw at home to Sunderland last week, although Steinsson said the players have felt for several weeks they were safe. Theoretically 11th place is still within reach and Steinsson said that was what the players must aim for, starting against struggling Hull at the weekend. "It would be fantastic to get six points out of our last two games but we have to concentrate on our match on Saturday and getting three points there," he said. "It will be a big game for Hull - they will need everything out of that game and it is nice to be in a position to make or break their season. "We have got ourselves in a good position, secured ourselves and we should be proud even though we have been a bit stop-start at the end. "Getting 40 points after 36 games is something we should be pleased about. "We did not start as well as we wanted and we were at the bottom so getting from there to where we are now is good and for a couple of weeks we have been basically safe."

Source: Team_Talk