Friday Mar 14 2008 07:28
Bolton Wanderers manager Gary Megson claimed he had no regrets after seeing an under-strength side exit the UEFA Cup at the hands of Sporting Lisbon.
Megson opted to rest the likes of Kevin Nolan, Jussi Jaaskelainen, Kevin Davies, Matt Taylor, El Hadji Diouf, Andy O'Brien, Ricardo Gardner and Ivan Campo ahead of Sunday's relegation showdown with Wigan Athletic as they lost 1-0 in Portugal on Thursday.
That sealed a 2-1 aggregate defeat in the round of 16, but afterwards Megson was adamant he had selected the right side.
He said: "You are always going to be open to criticism, but the team was strong enough.
"When you look at the team that started this game, we had six full internationals, they had one. We had four under-21 internationals and they didn't have any.
"In the end the game was tight and we had to gamble a little bit because of their away goal.
"But I'm big enough to accept criticism, although in hindsight I still wouldn't change anything.
"Now I expect all the players left behind to put a shift in at the JJB on Sunday and hopefully get us a result.
"We have been doing this for quite a while, chopping and changing the side, and there was no criticism after we beat Red Star in Belgrade, nor after drawing with Bayern in Munich and Atletico in Madrid.
"And when you look at it, we have gone as far as the other English clubs in the UEFA Cup."
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