Wanderers 1, MIDDLESBROUGH 0 Match Verdict by Gordon Sharrock

BRING on Liverpool and Leeds! They never thought they would be saying that with any conviction but, five days into the new season, top of the table with maximum points from two games and without a goal conceded, Wanderers are ready to face the big test of their Premiership credentials.

Victory over Middlesbrough at the Reebok last night built on the foundation of confidence they laid with their historic triumph at Leicester and gave them the courage to meet the elite forces of Anfield and Elland Road without fear.

They go head to head with Gerrard Houllier's Mersey Reds in front of the Sky TV cameras at the Reebok next Monday then, after a free weekend, cross the Pennines to take on David O'Leary's Championship candidates.

Daunting prospects! Of that there is no doubt but they appear less menacing today than they were a week ago.

Wanderers have produced two magnificent results to warn the rest of the Premiership that, while they may be temporarily flattered by their lofty position, they will be nobody's mugs.

Not with the likes of Michael Ricketts around.

The Brummie hit-man did it again last night, showing his incredible finishing power for the second time in four days to give his team-mates a lead they defended with guts, guile and no small measure of ingenuity.

After the fantasy football at Filbert Street, this was more like what we should expect from Wanderers as they try desperately to establish a beachhead in the top flight.

Opportunism, organisation, workrate and determination ... that combination of factors frustrated Boro and delighted the home fans who voiced their excitement with chants of "We are top of the League!" before coming back to reality the more sensible and achieveable offering of "Bolton's staying up!"

And so they will if they continue to pick off the more vulnerable teams in the Premiership.

Allardyce was delighted that his call for patience on and off the field was so effectively answered but he put the two results into perspective when he pointed out: "No disrespect to Leicester and Middlesbrough but we've got to come across Liverpool next and Leeds not too long after and that will be our really big test.

"It won't be the end of the world if we don't get results out of them because it won't be expected but I'm hoping that when we go into the Liverpool game we'll get that extra bit more out of the players than we've already got. Hopefully, what we have done so far will inspire our lads to play that much better because we're going to have to to get a result."

Wanderers are still learning about the Premiership but they are picking up points along the way and that is vital. They are also proving to be far more accomplished and effective than anyone imagined so early in the season.

Per Frandsen, a key member of the 97-98 team that won many admirers in the Premiership before suffering the same fate as the 95-96 side and lasted only the one season, is once again proving influential. He says: "Last time we had a decent side and were very unlucky to go down but we are very organised now. You can see that we don't give many goals away."

The Dane and his two central midfield colleagues - the classy and greatly admired Paul Warhurst and the young, strong and immensely talented Kevin Nolan - played a major part in denying Boro the space to turn their greater share of the second half possession into serious threats. Greatly appreciated by a defence whose strengths lay in the faultless handling of Jussi Jaaskelainen, the doggedness and determination of Mike Whitlow and the tigerish contributions of Simon Charlton.

Nolan, who grabbed the weekend headlines with his double strike at Leicester, added to his growing reputation when he mugged Paul Ince to set up the chance for Ricketts to combine with Bo Hansen to fashion the decisive goal on 39 minutes.

Boro, smarting from a 4-0 hammering by Arsenal at the Riverside on Saturday, were stung into an instant response with Brian Deane meeting Ince's cross with a diving header that was on its way in until Gudni Bergsson stretched to get in what turned out to be a crucial block.

Ince and Co might have had the territorial advantage - although not as convincingly as their manager Steve McClaren claimed later - but it was Wanderers, so dangerous on the counter-attack, who fashioned the only serious scoring chance of the second half. Unfortunately Hansen's finish failed to match the quality of Frandsen's assist.