Trotters boss baffled by criticism

23 May 2009 09:28
Megson finds the situation "strange" as for the second successive season under his stewardship the club's top flight status is secured. Such was the outcry at his appointment when he arrived from Leicester he felt obliged to address disaffected fans outside the Reebok Stadium when he turned up to watch the UEFA Cup tie against Braga. That was three days before Megson was officially due to take the team for the first time, a home match with Aston Villa, which finished in a draw. Despite his best efforts to appease the doubters, there remains a lingering suspicion by some fans of his managerial qualities and they have been quick to make their voices heard on matchday. Megson said: "I find it really strange and I do not like it. Things happened before I even walked through the door. "It was three days before I started work and it has gone on right the way through. "There will have been six clubs relegated in that time and Bolton have not been one of them. "Under me this club got a lot further than ever before in Europe (quarter-finals of the UEFA CUP). "We went to Bayern Munich with the reserves and got a draw there. We also beat Atletico Madrid with the reserves. "We stayed up and made a profit. We are here again and looking to go forward. There must be a lot of other clubs having huge problems if I am getting stick." Megson has operated with arguably the smallest squad in the Premier League and believes Bolton deserve to be applauded. He said: "Before a ball was kicked this season, the bookies made us 5-4 favourites to go down with only Stoke below us. "It has been a terrific season in that we have not had a squad anywhere near other Premier League clubs in terms of numbers. "When we faced Arsenal at the Emirates we were unable to fill the subs bench. That has happened once or twice. "However we cannot allow that situation to continue next season. We need to kick on." Bolton, however, are not pursuing their interest in on-loan trio Ebi Smolarek, Sebastien Puygrenier and Ariza Makukula. Megson, meanwhile, believes his managerial counterpart Mark Hughes is on the right path as they prepare to face Manchester City on Sunday. Megson said: "Looking on the situation from the outside at some of the problems Mark is having, it is a bit unfair. There is an improvement on what they did last season. "It is a really attractive fixture. It is a great stadium, they have huge support and it is a local derby. We want to put on a good, honest show."

Source: Team_Talk