PHIL Parkinson reckons Wanderers were caught by a sucker punch at Forest – but insists his side will not stay down for the count.

A 3-2 defeat at the City Ground leaves the Whites teetering on the edge of the relegation zone with a crunch home clash against Burton Albion next up.

Parkinson feels Wanderers played some of their best football of the season at Forest but after conceding a second goal against the run of play, took too long to rediscover their poise.

Will Buckley headed his side level in the first half but Gary Madine and Josh Vela had missed gilt-edged opportunities by the time Joe Worrall pounced to restore the home side’s lead.

Ben Brereton added a late third before Worrall put one into his own net in injury time. Parkinson refused to be too downbeat, insisting Wanderers are still making progress.

“We are getting better,” he told The Bolton News. “You have to get results to back up that statement but I think Forest was a good opportunity missed.

“That was a good performance with the ball, as well as without it. During the run we had we worked really hard without the ball but gradually we are getting better with it too.

“My only disappointment on the day was that the second goal knocked the stuffing out of us all and sometimes you have to accept there’s a natural dip, and that the home team is going to be lifted because they got a goal they didn’t deserve, but we stopped playing.

“We’d started the half well and I was going mad on the touchline trying to get us playing with the sharpness we had before but the heads went down for 10-15 minutes. It was a shame because we had them on the rack, we had them pinned right in and had good balance in our play.”

Parkinson also pointed an accusatory finger at ex-Wanderers captain Matt Mills for the treatment dished out to striker Gary Madine.

“Gaz got a buffeting,” he said. “Mills threw himself to the floor every time there was a challenge trying to get him booked but I thought he kept his nerve well.”