COLIN Todd has put his players on red alert as Wanderers prepare to cope with life at the top.

Delighted to see his team emerge as pacesetters after a dream start of 10 points from a possible 12, the Burnden boss accepts they are now up there to be shot down.

Three successive wins have seen them installed as new Division One favourites ahead of Saturday's trip to struggling Southend, who have taken just one point and conceded 10 goals in their four games.

With successive home games to follow against Grimsby and Portsmouth, Wanderers have a golden opportunity to enhance that position but the manager warned today: "Southend is going to be a real battle. I can guarantee that.

"After the start they've had they are going to be fighting for every point they can get and we have to be prepared to match that.

"Then we come back for two home games. People will be expecting us to win them ... and to be honest we should. But nobody's making any assumptions at the moment. We want to keep the run going because we know that results and performances breed confidence. But we're not getting carried away." Two of the big bookmakers have been so impressed by the impressive start that they've slashed their pre-season odds of 12-1. Corals quote them at 4-1 favourites and Ladbrokes say 9-2. William Hills still quote Manchester City as favourites at 4-1 and list Wanderers down the betting at 7-1.

Nevertheless there has been a major shift in the first fortnight of the new Nationwide campaign as Todd's team has impressed with the style and form they have shown in their unbeaten start.

The results have been based on solid teamwork and organisation but there have been outstanding individual performances too with Gerry Taggart and Chris Fairclough outstanding at the heart of the defence while new signing Per Frandsen is forging an influential partnership with Alan Thompson in midfield.

And there was further evidence of the fierce determination which has generated team spirit today when Todd revealed that a number of players, including Taggart, Frandsen, Thompson, Jimmy Phillips and Nathan Blake, featured in Sunday's dramatic 2-1 win at QPR despite suffering from a flu-type bug, which has been doing the rounds.

Middlesbrough midfielder Jamie Pollock, the subject of an early-summer enquiry from Wanderers, has teamed up with Fabian de Freitas at Spanish club Osasuna. Boro, who were asking £2 million, will not receive any fee because Pollock was out of contract and free to move abroad under the Bosman ruling.

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