Trotters boss bemoans lack of praise

28 February 2009 10:36
He is irritated that his team are continually perceived as one-dimensional and lacking flair. Bolton face Newcastle at the Reebok Stadium on Sunday aiming for back-to-back wins following the victory against West Ham. That was achieved thanks to goals from Matt Taylor and Kevin Davies in the first 11 minutes. However visiting manager Gianfranco Zola claimed that despite the defeat "nobody could argue" his side had played the better football. Megson said: "It makes me laugh when we beat teams as there always seems to be an excuse from the opposition. "It is either set-pieces or the first 20 minutes of the game. They were on the same pitch as well." Megson, however, would like his side to build on flying starts instead of going into their shell. He said: "We had a terrific 20 minutes against West Ham but after that we did not play nearly as well as we can. "We are thankful for the result because at times we got away with it. The idea is to get results and from that point of view, it wasn't all bad." Newcastle are also scrapping for their lives and struggling for consistency. Megson is aware of the importance of the fixture especially as they face a visit on Wednesday to Stoke, where several sides have slipped up. He is likely to field an unchanged side and said: "The Newcastle game is a huge one for us and a huge one for them given our positions in the table. "While we would love to go on a little run the main task is to get enough points on board to make sure we stay in the Premier League. "What you hope to do at the start of the season is get to the 40-mark as quickly as possible and then move on. "But there are very few teams in that position at this moment. The amount of sides locked together is incredible."

Source: Team_Talk