PHIL Parkinson has pleaded with fans to give Dean Moxey their full backing.

Andy Taylor will miss this weekend’s trip to Bradford City with a hamstring injury, leaving the way clear for Moxey to make only his second league start since October.

The experienced defender has had a chequered relationship with supporters in his two-and-a-half years at the Macron, and found himself marginalised earlier in the campaign.

But Parkinson has been impressed with his recent attitude and has appealed to the Bolton faithful to get behind him as the manager returns to his old stomping ground at Valley Parade on Saturday.

“Deano is one of those players who, in the past, the crowd have got on his back,” he told The Bolton News. “You can sense that.

“He only has to put one ball away and you can feel the reaction – but give him a chance. He has trained terrifically well and I always judge people on how they are out of the team, how they are in the dressing room before the games, geeing the lads up, preparing themselves properly. He has been excellent.

“I just want everyone to give him a chance. We need everyone.

“We are catching up on other teams, we’re two behind on some, but I think he came on and did a great job against Rochdale.”

Moxey has made 15 appearances this season but lost his place in the team to Taylor, signed on loan from Wigan Athletic.

The 31-year-old was a regular under Dougie Freedman and Neil Lennon in the Championship but has struggled to win over the full support of the crowd.

Parkinson will also have to make a change in midfield after skipper Jay Spearing picked up his 10th caution of the campaign, meaning he will miss trips to Bradford and Sheffield United.

Spearing was booked for blasting the ball into the North Stand in celebration after Wanderers edged ahead against Rochdale.

Meanwhile, the mystery over who scored Tuesday night’s winner has now been laid to rest – with Wanderers confirming Mark Beevers as the man who forced the ball over the line.

Some bookmakers paid out on Felipe Morais when official media channels credited the winger with the goal on the night.

Replays have shown Beevers was the only Bolton player to make contact with the ball, which was then hooked away by Rochdale defenders after it had crossed the goal-line, in the opinion of referee Chris Kavanagh. Club statistics show it to be his second of the season.