GARY Megson acknowledges that Wanderers have only themselves to blame for the vitriolic reaction to Saturday’s defeat against Sunderland.

Supporters have contacted The Bolton News in their scores to express displeasure with the team’s performance on the opening day of the season.

And the manager offered no excuses as he reviewed the Whites’ nightmarish start. “I’m not really that surprised by the reaction,” he said. “We didn’t play well.

“We got a bit better in the second half but after the game, overall, the only people who played anything like they can were Gary Cahill and Jussi Jaaskelainen.

“The reaction to losing is one of disappointment, and we all feel that. But the performance in the first 45 minutes masked everything.”

Darren Bent’s header after only five minutes set the tone for a desperate afternoon.

The England striker beat Kevin Davies at the far post to steer home Steed Malbranque’s cross — shattering what the manager believed was a promising opening to the game.

“As daft as it may seem, we set off really well in the first few minutes and had a good opportunity,” he said. “We were on top and then with their first attack they scored.

“Their confidence went up, ours went down, their belief went up, ours went down. We started chasing after the game and we were poor.

“We nearly got away with it with Gary Cahill’s header just before half time and then in the second half we were every bit as threatening as they were.

“Yes it was the first game, yes it was disappointing, but it doesn’t matter — we have lost at home and it was our fault because we didn’t pick anyone up from that set piece.”