Bolton Wanderers were at the receiving end of an embarrassing defeat at home against basement side Wigan Athletic recently.
The loss has severely hurt the Wanderers hopes of Premier League survival this year, and it has meant that the pressure on Owen Coyle’s shoulders has increase massively.
Coyle was a manager who was considered to be going places in the English game, but his nightmare season so far for Bolton has put paid to any further aspirations he holds. His squad is easily of Premier League quality, but there appears to be something not quite ‘clicking’ for now, and this has translated into results.
It has been a season of big highs and lows for the Trotters, with home wins against the likes of Liverpool being coupled with the embarrassing recent loss to Wigan. In players such as Martin Petrov, Mark Davies and Ivan Klasnic, there is certainly attacking talent within the team, but their upcoming fixtures are certainly games that will be a big test of their credibility.
After the cup game against Millwall, Bolton will have to travel firstly to Stamford Bridge, and then to the Etihad Stadium, both of which are games that they will not expect to gain many points from.
After that comes a crunch game against QPR at home, and if they fail to pick up many points against Chelsea or Manchester City, this could easily be a must win game for them if their fellow relegation strugglers have picked up points during that period. Coyle will be hoping that perhaps a run in the cup could be beneficial to his side’s morale, and with a kind fifth round draw, that is very possible.