KEVIN Davies warned that Wanderers that they must stop looking for excuses in their battle against the drop.

The Whites skipper insists the dressing room is united despite a dismal run of just three wins from the first 15 games, which has seen the club drop to the bottom of the table.

A fearsome run of fixtures at the start of the season and a crippling run of injuries have been blamed as contributing factors for Wanderers’ dismal start.

But Davies reckons it could be dangerous to wallow in misfortune, with plenty of time left to save the season.

“We can’t keep looking for excuses,” he told The Bolton News. “The fixtures, the injuries, they have been tough for us but that’s what the squad is for.

“The manager will be working hard and will be asking the players to get us out of this mess.

“We feel the next four games are massive for us.”

Davies was involved in Wanderers’ last big battle against the drop, in the 2007-8 season, which went right down to the final few games.

And he draws comparisons with the experience, as the club then under Gary Megson’s tutelage fought their way to safety.

“It’s a similar type of feeling,” he said. “You are in the bottom three and it’s not great. But it’s worse if you’re in there come April time then it really is worrying times.

“It’s disappointing to have taken nine points from 15 games.

“But we have got two tough away games coming up now, and luck can soon turn. We have to make sure we’re right for them.

“Everyone has got to stand up and take some responsibility.”

Davies has sympathy for his manager Owen Coyle, who has come under fire during the recent run.

And he believes there has been no shortage of effort on the training pitch to try and correct the problems currently cropping up with alarming regularity at the weekend.

“Training is fine - you know what the manager is like, he doesn’t let negativity get about,” he said.

“I had a good feeling about the Villa game because we’d done a lot of work on team shape and set pieces to make sure we’d prepared right. It had looked good all week and the preparation was spot on.

“When you are down there and get a goal against you, the confidence drops. but there’s no room for that in the position we’re in.

“It looks like we need the first goal to maybe give ourselves the confidence - but we can’t afford to be like that. We have to stick together. There’s no place for hiding right now.”