Wanderers 2, Huddersfield 0: By Gordon Sharrock WANDERERS are doing their best to stay focused as they continue to impress with their high-wire act.

Every stride is edging them closer to an instant return to the Premiership but they know they will need to balance confidence and caution to stay on top.

Opening a six-point lead on Saturday underlined their promotion credentials and earned yet more plaudits from admiring outsiders.

Huddersfield's beaten boss Brian Horton had no hesitation in declaring them the best side his team has faced while Wayne Burnett, who had hoped he might play his part when he started the season a Bolton player, is convinced his old team-mates are going up.

But Colin Todd and his players are shutting their ears to all that.

We'll get the time-honoured phrases of "keeping our feet on the ground", "it's a marathon not a sprint" and "no prizes are won in October/ November/December/January etc.", for some time to come as they strive to keep a sense of perspective.

Nevertheless, it's looking good. Wanderers are not in a false position; they continue to justify their revised status as hot favourites for the title, having had their pre-season odds slashed from an unflatteringly generous 14-1 to a miserly but justified 5-4, and they're being helped by their rivals who seem to be carving each other up.

While goals from Alan Thompson and John McGinlay confirmed Lancashire superiority over slow-starting but eventually spirited Yorkshire opponents, second-placed Norwich were going down at home to lowly Charlton, making it five home points dropped in the space of four days; Wolves and Barnsley were cancelling each other out at Molineux and Stoke and Tranmere were squandering early leads.

Of the serious contenders at this stage, only Crystal Palace managed a win. And that should suit Wanderers fine since Dave Bassett's high-scoring and highly-rated side will be the next visitors to Burnden - just in time to shake Todd's team back into their elegant stride.

For it's a fact that Wanderers, by their own towering standards, have shown stuttering, indifferent form as they've stormed clear of the field.

Away draws at Charlton and Barnsley exposed defensive frailities while successive home wins against Reading and Huddersfield have been far from fluent.

It's been their least convincing spell of the season yet they've still taken eight points from 12, stretched their unbeaten league run to 11 games and left the rest trailing in their wake. And if this is Wanderers at their worst then heaven help the rest. They shouldn't have had a care in the world on Saturday after 20 minutes when Thompson won a goal-line scramble to round off the move of the season. The midfield ace, who also crashed a 35-yard second half free kick against the foot of the post, wasn't even convinced he should have been credited with the goal, admitting: "I don't know if it's mine or not. If not, it's the team's."

Indeed, practically the entire team was involved with the move which started with Andy Todd in the right back position deep in Wanderers' territory. Michael Johansen took it on with a dash down the right touchline before Per Frandsen switched it to the impressive Scott Sellars on the left. Jimmy Phillips provided the extra man to pile even more pressure on Town right-back Simon Collins and his cross to the near post was an invitation for Thompson and Nathan Blake to slide in.

An offside flag had harshly denied McGinlay the opening goal on eight minutes when he got on the end of Thompson's cross but it didn't seem to matter. Sellars, Thompson and Phillips were tormenting stand-in full-back Collins while Blake and McGinlay went close to putting the result beyond doubt by half time.

But Wanderers continue to be their own worst enemies and they survived two major second half scares before McGinlay stretched every sinew to reach a Sellars cross to volley his 13th of the season and take his deserved place at the top of the division's goal charts.

It took a reflex save from Keith Branagan to palm a Tom Cowans shot over from Huddersfield's first corner of the game in the 46th minute and a double goal-line block in the 65th to keep out shots from Darren Bullock and Ian Lawson.

Horton, without his five most expensive signings and dismayed by the first half performance, started to wonder whether his depleted team might snatch an unlikely result. But he was honest enough to admit: "I've no complaints. Bolton are the best side we've played this season. They have experience, power and strength.

"I was without every player I've spent money on - five of them. Just think how Bolton would be without McGinlay, Blake, Taggart, Sellars and Phillips. They might struggle."

Todd, who is taking the opportunity of a free week to find players to cover such eventualities, paid tribute to a team performance. "They had us under a little bit of pressure and sometimes I felt we got dragged down to their level - and that's no disrespect to Huddersfield.

"We almost got caught early in the second half when Keith Branagan made that good save but we could have won by more than the two goals.

"I've told the players that they are a good team and they have shown that again. This was another excellent team performance and we were in control of the game for a long time. But we aren't getting carried away."

Sellars' form improves with every game but he is experienced enough to know fortunes can turn quickly.

He cautioned: "We play good football and we're going well but we must keep it going.

"I was 12 points clear with Blackburn in the 1991-92 season and we only qualified for promotion by the play-offs.

"On the performances we've put up so far, we deserve to be where we are but we've got to realise how important the rest of the season is.

"But the confidence is there. In one or two games recently we've had to grind out results but we are always confident we can win games - especially here at Burnden."

Burnett, who was made captain for the day, admitted a difference of opinion with Todd, reflecting: "He didn't think I was worth a place!" But he showed his admiration for the Burnden boss, who has pick ed up successive Manager of the Month awards since selling him to Huddersfield for £150,000.

"He could get his point across and you always knew exactly what he wanted from you on the football side."

The Cockney kid looks back too in admiration of the players he left behind. "Blake and McGinlay are a threat up front to anyone; Thompson and Frandsen are excellent in midfield and the defence looks solid. If it had stayed 0-0 at half time the crowd would have had a go but, to be honest, they were much better than us."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.