SAM Allardyce insisted today that confidence in the Reebok camp has not been damaged by Wanderers' Worthington Cup shaker.

The Bolton boss was bitterly disappointed to see his "second string" humbled by Bury and issued a personal apology to the fans.

But he is confident the derby defeat will not impact on Premiership matters and expects his first choice players to react positively when they take on in-form Middlesbrough tomorrow.

"We recovered from losing 6-0 at Tottenham last season, where we got slaughtered for that one as well," he said, recalling the controversy stirred up by Wanderers' quarter-final exit at White Hart Lane. "It's a little bit more difficult this time because we were playing at home against our local rivals so it's more embarrassing.

"But we just have to take it on the chin and come fighting back. We'll stick to our main priority, go to Middlesbrough and make sure we get tuned in for that."

Wanderers' response to that walloping at Spurs last December was a solid scoreless draw against Charlton and Allardyce sees no reason to believe the players he sends out at The Riverside will be any less determined than they were when they battled resolutely to rescue a point against Southampton at the Reebok last weekend.

The biggest concern after the Bury defeat was the lack of depth in the squad and not the quality of the first choice players whose positions, ironically, were strengthened.

Wanderers started the cup tie with just one player - Ivan Campo - who was in the starting line-up against Southampton, taking the opportunity to give their first choice stars the necessary rest period between Premiership games. Allardyce still believed he had enough quality to beat Andy Preece's Third Division side but the decision backfired, leaving the players stunned and the manager open to criticism of his selection policy.

He remains confident nevertheless.

"All the players who are going to be involved tomorrow have been well rested this week getting ready for this game," he added. "Most of the ones who didn't play came and watched the game and will have been very happy going home because there's not too much threat to their positions at the moment."