GRETAR Steinsson has told Wanderers’ relegation rivals: We’re better than you.

Bolton moved out of the bottom three following Saturday’s vital win against fellow strugglers Wolverhampton.

The victory — the first in six Premier League games — means Owen Coyle’s men are now in 15th place, two points clear of the drop zone.

Steinsson admits being locked in a survival fight has been a living nightmare. But the Wanderers defender insists the Reebok club are too good to go down.

“We are stronger than the teams around us,” said the Iceland international.

“We have a much stronger team and deserve to be much higher in the league.

“We should leave these teams behind us now.”

Bolton’s 1-0 victory against Wolves was their first in six Premier League games, while Zat Knight’s winner ended a wait of more than nine hours for a goal.

Steinsson revealed the players had endured a difficult spell — but praised their mental strength.

The 28-year-old added: “It’s not easy to wake up and look at the table and know you need a result.

“There was a lot of pressure on us (against Wolves) but it’s not the first time we’ve had our backs to the wall and needed to get a result.

“It can be a really stressful and difficult time if you are always down there.

“But the mentality of the team is fantastic.”

After a hectic run of seven games in 22 days, Wanderers have no midweek match ahead of Saturday’s trip to West Ham United.

And Steinsson, who has been struggling with a knee injury, believes the side will benefit from the break. “We need it [a break],” he said. “It’s really difficult to play midweek games. It’s okay if everyone is playing but some have had a chance to go to Dubai and rest for a week while we’ve been playing all the time.

“There’s been a lot of games in the last couple of months. It’s hard to get knocks and not have time to recover “It’s harder than people realise but the players have done fantastically.”

Jack Wilshere, meanwhile, will be staying at Wanderers.

There has been talk of on-loan midfielder returning to Arsenal following Aaron Ramsey’s horror injury at Stoke.

But Wilshere’s loan deal does not include a call-back clause - leaving the 18-year-old free to stay at the Reebok until the end of the season.