Wanderers look for helping hand

9:00am Friday 9th May 2008

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GARY Megson is confident Derby County and Portsmouth will do their bit to ensure there are no dramatic D-day disasters for Wanderers.

The great escape should be completed at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, unless title-chasing Chelsea give the Whites a thumping and both Reading and Fulham pull off big wins at Pride Park and Fratton Park respectively.

The 3,000 Bolton fans who will travel to London will be in carnival mood but at the back of their minds will be the fear that Derby, statistically the worst team in Premier League history, and FA Cup Finalists Pompey won't do them any favours.

But Megson is convinced Paul Jewell, pictured, and Harry Redknapp, will want their teams to end their league campains on a winning note.

"Derby will want to, I'm sure," he said. "Its been a really difficult season for everybody involved at Derby.

"But they've sold, I'm told, 19,000 season tickets for next season and they'll have a full house for their last game and the people who are there will want to go out on a high. No football club wants to go through a summer on the back of a poor run of results and Derby is a huge football club."

With only 11 points from their 37 games, Derby are already destined to end the season with the lowest-ever Premiership points haul and their abysmal record of having won just one game will be encouraging to Reading, who would need to make up an 11-goal deficit on Sunday, if they were to overhaul Wanderers.

But Megson believes Rams boss Paul Jewell and his players will not roll over against a team that has not scored in six games, despite having conceded six in each of their last two games.

He added: "I know Paul is looking towards next season and he would love to go into it with a result, as will all his players and his chairman and board, and everyone connected with Derby. The same follows at Portsmouth.

"Harry knows the score. They've had a brilliant season in the league as well as the cup and won't want to go into the FA Cup Final on the back of a string of defeats.

"He's not a stupid man, he's an astute football manager and he's got a home game.

"The same applies to ourselves as it does to them. We want to finish on a high note."

While they could be dependant on what Reading and Fulham do andcould influence the destination of the Premiership title, Megson says Wanderers must focus exclusively on maintaining the four-match unbeaten run that has effectively ended their relegation fears.

"We are fully aware of the team that we are playing and the posiition we are in and that results elsewhere will play a part," he acknowledged.

"But it doesn't matter. Even if we didn't need any points from the game and regardless of where it is, I expect us to play properly, I expect us to compete, I expect us to put a foot in and not short-change the people who are going down there."