PETER Reid is backing Sam Allardyce to dig Wanderers out of relegation trouble.

The Sunderland boss saw his Black Cats complete a priceless Premiership double at the Stadium of Light last night with a victory that can only add to the pressure on his best friend and the club that will always have a special place in his heart.

But the old Bolton favourite is confident that Wanderers have what it takes to survive.

"I think they've got enough," Reid said after another former Burnden midfield ace - Jason McAteer - scored the only goal of a tense encounter. "He (Allardyce) has just got to buy a goal from somewhere. Hopefully he can keep Ricketts fit and get him, Holdsworth or Djorkaeff scoring.

"I think they'll be all right."

Reid, who came through the Wanderers' junior ranks with Allardyce and developed a long and lasting friendship with the man he shared Second Division Championship success with in 1978, has the highest regard for what his old mate has done on limited resources in the Premiership and is desperate to see him succeed.

"I think he has done a fantastic job at Bolton this season, especially considering he's had so little money to spend," he said in a glowing tribute to his old sidekick. "If they were 10 points adrift at the bottom of the table right now,

Reid backing

old pal Sam

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no-one who looked at the teams competing at the start of the season would have been surprised.

"The fact that they are still out of the relegation zone and have a chance of staying up says everything about the job that has been done down there.

"Sam's a great mate and I would love to see Bolton stay up this season."

Reid knows last night's result, allied to Blackburn's 3-0 victory over Aston Villa, has shortened the odds on Wanderers going down but he reckons Allardyce has the strength of character to meet the challenge.

"He'll see it through," he said decisively. "He can handle it and he get get his players to handle it."

The sighs of relief on Wearside could have been heard as far away as St James' Park after McAteer's goal four minutes before half time earned injury-hit Sunderland only their second win in 10 Premiership games since the turn of the year and hoisted them four points clear of Wanderers.

"It was a big, big game," Reid acknowledged caring little about the quality of the performance. "Everyone knows the result was the most important thing and we got it.

"But there is still a long, long way to go."