Dougie: Zat Form Deserving of New Deal

Speaking to the BEN, Bolton Wanderers manager Dougie Freedman has expressed his belief that club captain Zat Knight's current form is ushering the 33 year old centre-half towards a new contract.

Knight have been at the club since 2009 when he was signed by Lord Dickhead for an astonishing £4m, though to his credit has been one of the better performers in the last two months of the season.

Freedman said:

"Big Zat Knight is playing the best football I have ever seen him play and he's fighting for the cause - whatever that might be, he's fighting for it,"

"He wants to sit down and he's doing himself no harm at all. I'm forming that idea with one or two players right now in my mind.

"If that's the way it's going to go I'll be giving Zat six-week contracts from now on because he's been outstanding."

Despite a wage drop upon signing his new contract at the start of the 2012 season, it is expected that Wanderers would have to ask the defender to take a further pay cut.

Freedman added, giving himself a greater sense of responsibility than he really should have:

"Whether the club can afford a deal to suit Knight is another matter - but Freedman has been pleased with the player's attitude since coming back into the first- team frame in the last couple of months.

"I can't lie - I'm in a position at the end of this season where financially I have to make some difficult decisions on who to keep and who to release," he said. "But if he keeps playing like that then you know the answer.

"There are several factors to it but you can do yourself no harm by doing exactly what Zat has done and showing what you are capable of."