PHIL Parkinson has dismissed any suggestion that Wanderers are ‘safe’ from the Championship trapdoor.

The Whites have opened up a six-point gap on the bottom three with nine games remaining, three of which are against sides below them in the table.

Saturday's draw with Sheffield Wednesday left fans feeling confident - but when asked if he could start to reflect on Wanderers' achievement to pull away from the relegation zone, Parkinson answered with a resounding "no".

While the omens are good, and Bolton have been beaten just once in their last five games, there is a clear and loud message coming from the coaching staff to the players demanding standard do not slip.

“I honestly don’t feel we are ‘nearly there’ and I think the minute I do think that will be the moment we get dragged right back into it,” said Parkinson. “We have only achieved something if by the end of the season we’re above that dotted line.

“Right now, I think we have a lot of work left to do. There are some really good elements of our play, we’re controlling the game a lot better over the last two away games.”

“So I am happy we have started to evolve a little bit, I am pleased with the results we have got away from home, but I am not getting ahead of myself. We are still in a dogfight.”

Third-placed Aston Villa come to the Macron Stadium on Saturday evening looking to further their promotion chase.

But after snatching a point late in the day at Sheffield Wednesday, Parkinson says his side goes into the game with the belief they can cause an upset.

“It’s great to go back in front of your own fans after a result like that,” he said. “Obviously it is a tough game because Aston Villa have been going well but we’ve done well at home, so we’ll be doing everything we can to get a result. It’ll be a good game.”

Parkinson has also spoken about Saturday’s goalscorer, Aaron Wilbraham, who has come in for criticism from some quarters of the Wanderers support.

“It frustrates me, I have to be honest,” he added.

“The big men in football, especially when they are 38, are not £5m strikers, are always the ones the supporters get at. It’s been that way right through the history of football.

“But what the supporters and everyone else doesn’t see is what he offers us around the building and I think he has got a role to play in this run-in."