Sam aims to build
11 Dec 2006 - 09:24:29
Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce hopes his side can build on the 4-0 thrashing of West Ham United and challenge for a European place this season.
Saturday's Reebok Stadium victory lifted Bolton up to fifth in the Premiership table and ended a disappointing run of five defeats in their previous seven matches.
"We thought we were going to build on the Arsenal win but we lost to Chelsea and Reading. We don't want a repeat of that," said Allardyce.
"We want to go to Aston Villa (on Saturday) and get something out of the game and build an unbeaten run going into Christmas.
"We've put ourselves back into a nice position again, but one point either way means you can go four or five places either way.
"We've seen the big boys driving back up towards the top end again, so I expect life to be difficult for us over Christmas.
"They've finished their Champions League games for now, so they don't have those to worry about and they'll be better equipped than we are to cope with all those games in such a short period.
"I just hope we can keep our players fit through that time and continue to compete at a level that will keep us up there. Then we'll see what January and February brings.
"We'll do well to stay in among them but it will be extremely difficult for us."