DOUGIE Freedman faced up to more calls for him to be removed as manager of Bolton Wanderers by stating defiantly that he is still the right man to lead the club.

Saturday’s 1-0 defeat against Wolves leaves his side above the relegation zone on goal difference after one win in eight games.

Travelling fans made their feelings known in the second half at Molineux but there has been no indication whatsoever from the Whites hierarchy that a change of manager is being considered.

Freedman hinted for the first time that some of the problems his side have encountered in the last 12 months have been based on the huge number of loan players imported into the squad.

“I’m very convinced I’m the person who can improve this,” he said after the game. “We’ve taken huge strides off the field but that has not been mirrored on it.

“On the field there has been a lot of movement, in and out, and I’ve never been able to get a settled side.

“The minute I get a settled team, four or five loans go back. We still need to add a little bit of sparkle and that seems to come to us not at the start of the season but halfway through it.”

Nouha Dicko, the former Wigan striker, scored the winning goal at Molineux to give Wolves their first win over Bolton in five years and send Kenny Jackett’s side third in the table.

But Freedman argued that Wanderers were well worth at least a point after wasting some excellent opportunities in a second half they dominated – including a missed penalty from Owen Garvan.

“Football is a results business, I understand that, but it doesn’t always give you the full picture,” he said.

“I’m giving it everything I’ve got. I’m working very hard and when you look at the players’ performances, we’re not a million miles away.

“I just feel that people need to understand where we are as a football club and what we’ve got.

“If someone said to me before we got here that I’d have a penalty and three or four really good chances and still not leave Molineux without a result, I’d have thought they were mad.

“We can’t keep calling ourselves unlucky. We need a mentality where we take chances when they come along.”

Asked for his opinion on the chants of “Freedman Out” that first appeared midway through the second half, the Wanderers boss produced a diplomatic answer.

“Everyone is entitled to an opinion and I’ve got absolutely no problem with it at all,” he said.

“Fans pay good money and tickets are expensive nowadays so that’s nothing I can do anything about.

“My concern is just trying to get the players to perform.”