Kevin Davies & Dougie wary of league position but believe quality will see club through

Bolton's 2-1 loss at Watford over the weekend left fans scared of looking down. The loss coupled with other results around the league saw the Trotters sitting in a very disheartening 20th place in the table and three points above the drop zone. The players aren't oblivious to the precarious position and neither is the manager.

Kevin Davies made an appearance on the Goals on Sunday couch and discussed the feelings around the club at the moment:

"It's difficult. We were expecting to be at the top end and it's been a difficult couple of years for us as a club.

"There's been a lot of changes. I didn't expect us to go down from the Premier League, I thought we'd be okay, and it's difficult to take.

"We've got a fantastic squad and we've missed key players - Stuart Holden, Lee Chung-Young and David Wheater - but we hold no excuses. We've got a good enough squad and we shouldn't be where we are - but we are.

"It [relegation] has not been mentioned, but it's frightening to look after the result against Watford and see how close we are down there. It's quite scary.

"But we'll stick together, will keep working hard on the training ground and everything is in place; the squad, the manager and it's a fantastic club.

"We've just not managed to put anything together this year; no back-to-back wins and it's been very inconsistent really."

Manager Dougie Freedman was well aware of where Bolton Wanderers sit too, speaking on BBC Radio Manchester:

"We're in a difficult moment where we feel everything is going against us. We'll regroup, we stand together and we'll springboard up, no problem."

Both the manager and captain put the issue down to a lack of consistency and killer instinct. It's not necessarily that Bolton have been playing poorly, it's that they haven't done well enough to close it matches out.

Dougie said:

"I don't think that way and anyone who wants to help the club shouldn't think that way either.

"I'm more concerned about us winning games of football. We're not far away from these teams.

"We just need that little bit of luck. I've been here 1,000 times as a player and a manager. We've got the qualities in the squad to springboard us up the league.

While Super Kev added that the quality of the squad should show through:

"It's a different style of play for us, but we've got a fantastic squad.

"It's a little bit different, but he's been there three months now and we all know what's required and we all know our roles as players.

"There's competition right throughout the squad for places, so there's no excuses. We're playing well, just not doing enough to win games, which is frustrating.

"Yesterday's game was typical of our season really. We dominated for large parts, but we let them back in with the goal we conceded.

"It's just been one of those seasons that's been really frustrating. When you get a positive result you think you're going to go on and have a fantastic run, but it's just not happened for us."

Onwards and upwards, boys.