FOR anyone who doubts what a cruel business football management can be, the tale unfolding at Bolton Wanderers is proving required reading.

Just 22 weeks after holding aloft the promotion trophy on a victory lap of the Macron Stadium, Phil Parkinson was left answering questions about his job security in the mixed zone at Villa Park.

He answered, as ever, with dignity and claims to have the backing of owner and chairman Ken Anderson to continue the unenviable task of lifting his team off the foot of the Championship, where they reside after 11 games without a single win to their name.

Outsiders may look at the stats and wonder if he is right to have such confidence. Wanderers are on their worst start for 115 years and they have not scored in more than 12 hours of football. On much brighter numbers, managers have already been given their marching orders this season.

Yet even Parkinson’s biggest detractors will agree this is a special case.

Around 1,000 travelling fans stuck behind to applaud the team off the field for their efforts against Villa, where £11million striker Jonathan Kodjia had scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot. They had seen a performance of grit and a late Gary Madine header cleared acrobatically off the line by Chris Samba. Nevertheless their backing was refreshing in a sport so quick to play the blame game.

International breaks tend to be bad news for struggling managers, however, and so it was only to be expected that Parkinson’s position should come into question.

His arrival last June added stability and his organisational skills were key in assembling the team which bludgeoned its way to promotion in April.

Perversely, he has rediscovered some of that defensive rigidity in the last few weeks, particularly with the addition of Karl Henry in midfield. But the trade-off between keeping his team in a game and trying to win it is proving tougher than he could ever have imagined since their return to the second tier.

Parkinson happened across a decent mix on Saturday as Adam Armstrong and Sammy Ameobi were deployed either side of target man Madine. The result was better than it had been for long spells against Bristol City but still painfully dependant on something – anything – dropping favourably in the penalty box, rather than any great craft or guile.

Armstrong had a great chance on the stroke of half time, feeding on a good flick from Madine, but didn’t get enough behind his shot to worry Sam Johnstone in the home goal. Such profligacy has been the story of Wanderers’ campaign.

Ameobi was making his first start since signing permanently from Newcastle United in the summer and his presence does lend an air of unpredictability to the Wanderers’ front line. But by the hour mark his race had been run.

Villa’s ex-England centre-half John Terry learned quickly after the half time break that he did not need to engage in a physical battle against Madine for the first ball, as more often than not the big striker had little support to keep play going further up the pitch.

Compare that to the other end of the pitch where David Wheater and Mark Beevers – the centre-backs who were so vital at both ends of the pitch last season – were working flat out to contain lively Villa duo Kodjia and Keinan Davis. Something had to give at some point, and it was Beevers’ trip on Davis which prompted ref Jeremy Simpson to point to the spot in the 39th minute.

Parkinson had every reason to be upset that a clear offside had been ignored a few moments earlier as Kodjia ran through on Mark Howard’s goal. The Wanderers keeper pulled off a marvellous save but from the resulting corner, Wanderers were still panicking and Beevers’ rash challenge was a rare aberration in an otherwise good performance.

This has been a demanding run of fixtures for Wanderers’ small squad and signs of wear and tear have been evident. Andy Taylor looked shattered chasing Rob Snodgrass, so much so that Parkinson had to hook his full-back with five minutes to go rather than throw on another attacking option.

Jem Karacan also had to succumb in the end after a nasty first-half challenge from Glenn Whelan which seemed to warrant more than the yellow card it got.

Ref Simpson had an unpredictable afternoon, much to the chagrin of the cavernous Holte End, still one of the most impressive sights in English football despite Villa’s fall from grace. And once Wheater and Beevers did pick up cautions, home boss Steve Bruce was quick to throw on two new, fresh strikers in Josh Onomah and Scott Hogan to give them a whole new set of problems. Oh for that luxury on Parkinson’s bench.

Adam Le Fondre got 20 minutes off the bench, his name had rarely been far away from the travelling support’s lips to that point. Unfortunately, there was no fairy-tale finish.

The striker chased hard, had one shot from distance but his biggest contribution was to be scythed down by Neil Taylor, resulting in a straight red card for the Wales international. In truth, the challenge was not as dangerous as that of Whelan’s in the first half, but by that point ref Simpson was making the rules up as he went along.

Samba’s late scrambled clearance summed it up. On its own merit this had been an admirable away performance from Wanderers, they had been a little unfortunate not to grab a point. Yet words like ‘luck’ and ‘fortune’ are not what Bolton fans want to hear.

Parkinson has support from his players, and seems to have the same from his chairman. He has Josh Vela, Will Buckley and Derik Osede set for a return after the international break and will presumably then have a full squad at his disposal.

Just a few weeks ago, Villa’s fans were calling for Steve Bruce’s head after a mediocre start. The club now stands sixth with genuine promotion ambition.

Parkinson has had nothing like as much pressure from his own club’s fans but one cannot help think a failure to get results in forthcoming home games against Sheffield Wednesday and QPR will see a change in that tune.