GARY Megson’s quiet revolution will shift on to its next stage should Wanderers clinch three points against Aston Villa this afternoon.

If safety is achieved with four games remaining, it will represent steady if not spectacular progress, considering fingernails were down to the quick by this stage of last season.

While consistency has been incredibly difficult to find on the pitch, off it, the ship has been steadied to the point that the manager can almost begin planning for what he thinks will be a hectic summer in the transfer market.

It would seem the next stage of Megson’s plan is to boost numbers and, given that three of what he claims is a 20-strong first team squad are currently on loan, that is no mean feat.

Ebi Smolarek, Sebastien Puygrenier and Ariza Makukula have seen little Premier League action between them since arriving to plug the many gaps in the Wanderers squad.

Should they leave, which given their lack of games would be no huge surprise, Megson would virtually have to match the number of signings he made in total last summer just to get back to what he currently describes as “the bare bones”.

Added to that, first teamers such as Nicky Hunt, Danny Shittu and Riga have all been marginalised for much, if not all of the season, leaving their future at the club in question.

The manager claims 24 players have left in his 18 months at the helm, replaced by just nine professionals. It stands to reason that the rose bush cannot be pruned any further – so should Wanderers supporters expect an exciting summer in the transfer market? Well, yes and no.

“It will be a busy summer, but in a different way than last year because there were a lot of contracts to sort out,” the manager told The Bolton News.

“But we’ve got a short-term thing to sort out before we get to that point, and that’s to make sure we stay in the Premier League.”

Megson is under no illusion about the boundaries he is operating within at the Reebok, and is certainly not expecting to match the buying power that is likely to be enjoyed by his opposite number this afternoon, Martin O’Neill, in the summer.

The astute Irishman has fashioned an exciting young squad of primarily home-based players that has, for a long time this season, threatened the monopoly of the Champions League positions by the Big Four.

“I’d love to be able to copy what Martin has done but we wouldn’t be able to – we’re not in the same financial league,” he said. “There are quite a few clubs that, like us, need to move on. Martin has done it himself but he can do it quicker than most because of the finances he has got.

“Here, we wait for the windows to open but don’t have the money to do it in one go. This January the club’s captain (Kevin Nolan) left for £4million and we brought in Mark Davies for £1million.”

Megson reckons Villa’s chances of breaking through the glass ceiling into the top four could well depend on their success in the transfer market this summer.

“I can see Aston Villa troubling the top four if they can keep some momentum going,” he said.

“It will get more and more difficult for them, though, because they are looking at the same players Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United are looking at.”