Tony Kelly's view on Wanderers

I CAN understand the Bolton fans being disappointed after the first two games of the season, but getting on the manager’s back won’t help the situation.

First and foremost the players pick up on it and it didn’t surprise me at all to hear Kevin Davies admit that they had been affected by what they heard at Hull on Saturday.

I’m not saying for one minute that it influenced the result in any way, but it can knock you out of your stride.

What it can do, though, is galvanise a team and it was interesting to hear Gary Megson talking after the game about having to “circle the wagons again”. Because that’s what I think the lads will do, they will link arms and be more united than ever and more determined to get that first win under their belts.

It could actually help them.

In fact I fully expect them to get their first win at Tranmere in the Carling Cup tonight and get their first points on the board against Liverpool at the Reebok on Saturday.

Bolton have a decent home record against Liverpool and this could be a good opportunity for Davo and the lads to calm things down a bit.

I fully appreciate that the fans are concerned, especially with the team not scoring. But I have a lot of faith in this set of players and I’m sure that once they get that first win – and it doesn’t matter if it is an ugly one – they will settle down and start showing what they are capable of.

You always look to your strikers to get you goals but it’s not always down to them. The midfield lads chipped in with quite a few last season and they have to share a fair slice of the responsibility now.

But we all need to show a bit of patience. I said last week that I’m not going to judge any team until they’ve played half a dozen games and I’m still of the same mind.

We went through many of these problems last season and the season before and I’m still of the opinion that this current squad has improved.

It’s just going to take time for the new signings to fit in and we have to give them that time.

It’s no use getting on the manager’s back, though. Once they cross that white line it’s down to the players and, when things aren’t going well, it’s the experienced ones — the big game players – you rely on to help you come through it.

I’m looking to people like Kevin Davies, Gary Cahill, Matt Taylor and Sean Davis to stand up and be counted in the next few games but I’d also like to think the fans can play their part too.