PHIL Parkinson reflected on a damaging home defeat against Burton Albion and admitted he needs reinforcements.

The Wanderers boss had thrown down a pre-match challenge to his players to show him he did not need to make sweeping changes when the transfer window re-opens next month.

But after watching Lloyd Dyer sink the Whites with a first-half strike, dragging them back into the bottom three, there was no doubt in his mind key additions were now needed if the club is to stay in the Championship.

“Players who take those moments in big games are the most expensive ones,” he told The Bolton News. “We dominated at Nottingham Forest last week and have done so again but we need to start talking about how good our finishing is, rather than all the chances we are missing.

“We have to improve what we have got. We’ve finished the first half of the season in the bottom three, so we have to make sure somehow that by the end of the season we’re out of it.

“We have a lot of thinking to do to make sure that in these tight games we’re the team which comes out on top. We need to produce because at the moment we are lacking quality when those big moments come along in games.”

Wanderers sit above rock-bottom Birmingham City on goal difference and now face three sides currently placed within the top 10 in their next three festive fixtures, starting next Saturday at home to high-flying Cardiff City.

Parkinson had no complaints with the angry reaction from supporters inside the Macron.

“It’s three points dropped against one of our rivals, we haven’t done ourselves any favours at all,” he said.

“I can’t really moan about the reaction from the crowd, I can completely understand the frustration and any criticism which will come our way.

“It was a game we all came into expecting to win. But this result isn’t going to completely define our season. We’ll get back in on Monday morning and try to put it behind us to prepare for Cardiff.”