IN an ideal world, Kevin Davies would see both Wanderers and Sheffield United facing each other in the Championship next season.

Two clubs close to the former striker’s heart go head-to-head at Bramall Lane tomorrow in a game many predict could shape the League One title race.

Sheffield United currently have the edge, holding a seven-point advantage over Wanderers, who do have two games in hand. Scunthorpe sit second but have not yet won a game in February.

Victory for Bolton tomorrow could see the power shifted to this side of the Pennines and with home games against Bristol Rovers and AFC Wimbledon to come over the following week, Davies admits it could be a crucial time for his former clubs.

“I think Sheffield United will go up but Scunthorpe are fluttering a little and I think they can be caught. If Bolton and Sheffield United, my boyhood club, could go up that would be great,” he said. “They’re unbeaten in the last four and coming in to form so they can face any of those teams and get a result.

“The Sheffield United game will be a massive, massive game, with the travelling Bolton fans in full voice – it will be some spectacle.”

“They’ve got a great chance to get promoted automatically. The fans are enjoying the ride and I think they can get second spot.”

Had circumstances been different, Chris Wilder may have been sitting in the away dugout tomorrow afternoon – the former Northampton Town boss having featured on Ken Anderson’s early shortlist for the vacant Macron job in the summer.

Few Wanderers fans will grumble at the outcome, however, with Phil Parkinson’s disciplined and structured approach proving the perfect tonic got a club that had found itself in complete disarray the season before.

“We’ve sat next to each other at a few games and he’s very humble, very softly spoken but knows exactly what he wants and he’s very much a no-nonsense type manager,” said Davies.

“The club is very impressed with what he’s doing and under the current circumstances he’s doing a very good job.

“The style of football is not always pretty but he’s challenging the players to win games in different ways with a Plan B and Plan C. He tries to keep the other team guessing and it seems to be working.”

Davies has not been as impressed with events off the pitch, however, and was critical of the recent public statements issued between co-owners Anderson and Dean Holdsworth.

“It’s not an ideal situation for the club,” he told the news.bwin blog. “Two grown men going public against one another is not good for the players, fans and anyone surrounding the club.

“I know Dean very well and he’s worked very hard to help the club to get the deal over the line but having viewed the recent accounts, it doesn’t make pretty reading, especially with Dean taking out a heavy interest rate loan. This is not what’s best for the club for the short/medium term but he was desperate to get in and take the reins.

"He lost an investor towards the end of the deal and brought Ken in to help out last minute and this dispute has been public for far too long. It isn’t healthy.

“The public spat on social media is completely childish. This should be a matter dealt with in-house.

"Ken has done his best to try and increase the income through shares, sponsorships and other dealings but it seems the loan has meant they’ve hit a stumbling block. If there’s interest externally for someone to acquire the club, especially if they get promoted, then this will help alleviate the problems.

“It’s a very difficult period and it’s an ongoing process but at the moment they have poor finances and players on bigger contracts than the club can afford.”

Quotes courtesy of sports.bwin.com, click here for more