AS his job appeared to hang by a thread last night, Dougie Freedman admitted reservations over whether his Wanderers squad was good enough to play their way out of trouble.

The beleaguered boss remained in charge as The Bolton News went to press despite fervent speculation that he would be sacked after nearly two years in charge.

The club confirmed he would be present at today's 2pm press conference at Euxton to preview Saturday's clash with Bournemouth.

Wednesday’s shambolic display in a 4-0 defeat at Fulham was seen as a fatal blow to the Scot’s chances of keeping hold of his job.

But it appears that Freedman will run the gauntlet at the Macron Stadium, where fans are likely to continue the protests that first reared their head last weekend during the defeat to Derby County.

Wanderers are four points adrift in the bottom three going into Saturday’s game but Freedman conceded confidence in the dressing room has been hit hard after a run of just one win in 10 league games.

Asked whether he has enough in his arsenal to get out of the bottom three – and conceivably save his job – Freedman admitted: “It doesn’t look like that.”

And the Scot says he will now rely more on scrap than skill as Wanderers try to find him some unlikely salvation.

“We need to find a way,” he said. “These players have shown over the last couple of years that they are not good enough to challenge at the top of the league.

“We have got characters in our team that will give it their all, there’s no doubt about that.

“We’ve set up a team to sometimes defend, and it doesn’t work, and sometimes attack, and it doesn’t work.

“I think we’ve got the players in the dressing room to put on a fight but we need to realise it’s a fight now.

“The players in the dressing room are low but they have an opportunity to come out on Saturday and fight.”

Talks between Freedman and Phil Gartside took place yesterday – although the manager played down their importance.

“We speak after every game, it’s nothing out of the normal,” he said.