WHILE clouds continue to cast a shadow over the Macron, Wanderers’ legendary striker Kevin Davies refuses to give up on his former club’s chances of staying in the Championship.

Eight straight defeats, all coming without a goal to their name, have seen Phil Parkinson’s side exit the Carabao Cup and become rooted to the foot of the table.

On current form, even the most sanguine of supporters would find it difficult to envisage a Wanderers escape.

But, typically bullish, Davies will not write off the Whites at this – still reasonably early – stage.

“Things haven’t been going well but I still feel it’s not all doom and gloom,” said the ex-striker, who this year was named in The Bolton News’ all-time Macron XI. “No one expected it to be easy after being promoted back up to the Championship, but I always thought they would have enough to be able to win enough games this season – particularly against the teams in and around them.

“They have been trying to find a way to be well-organised defensively, but they do need to get goals and find a result quickly, before they find themselves too far adrift.”

Already seven points from safety, Wanderers have been the team backed the most for relegation, with more than a third of punters putting money on them going down.Phil Parkinson’s side were tipped at 2/1 for relegation before the season but, following defeat at Aston Villa last Saturday, bookies have cut their odds, with one – 10Bet – currently offering 1/1,000.

A spokesman for bookmaker comparison site oddschecker.com said: “This firm are taking absolutely no chances, and have made Bolton an unbackable price for the drop. The 1/1000 means they are seen to have a 0.01 per cent chance of retaining their Championship status.”

Davies, though, says Parkinson can engineer a recovery, starting when they return to action a week on Saturday against Sheffield Wednesday, believing him to be the man for the job.

“I’m trying to stay positive, and they should,” he added. “I definitely feel they should stick by Phil Parkinson, especially if he is able to add a few more free agents and bring in a bit of quality.

“They just have to stick together, keep believing in what the manager is trying to do and believe they can get that first win. I believe they can stay up, they just have to scrap for everything.”