Megson issues Trotters warning
20 Nov 2009 - 16:03:59
Two weeks on Megson is still reeling from the 5-1 defeat by Aston Villa, which posed searching questions about the quality of his squad.
Bolton have been shipping goals with 15 conceded in the last five Premier League games.
Megson is adamant the rot has got to stop now, starting with a positive result against their local rivals.
He said: "The Villa defeat will rankle for a long time. Whatever team it turns out to be on Sunday...if Jussi is not playing, he is the only one who could say it is out of order.
"Everyone else who plays against Blackburn can consider themselves fortunate in my book."
The performance at Villa caught Megson by surprise.
He said: "I had been pleased with the way we performed against Chelsea and Manchester United. I was also delighted with our displays against Everton and Tottenham.
"We are in exactly the same position as we were in last season and we went on to finish 13th, without doing well in our last six games. We want to try and improve on that.
"I would like to see us judged at the end of the season but everyone in football is judged all the time. We are under constant scrutiny."
Megson is determined to put one over his managerial counterpart Sam Allardyce, who took Bolton into Europe and into the League Cup final as well.
Allardyce arrived at Blackburn last winter and help them retain their top-flight status following an unsuccessful stint at Newcastle.
That spell with the Magpies did include a victory over Bolton at the Reebok Stadium and Megson said: "I am sure Sam is looking forward to the game as are other people who have links with Bolton.
"He has been back once and they got a good result on the day. But our focus is that it's a home game and a good opportunity to get three points.
"It went well for Sam here with the players he had but not so well for him at Newcastle.
"He has not been at Blackburn for a long time but I am sure his first remit was to keep them in the Premier League, which he did do.
"But it is not about managers or stadiums, it is all about supporters. It is their game. But the people who will dictate whether you are successful or not are players, no-one else."
Bolton 11/10, Draw 12/5, Blackburn 5/2
