Wanderers felt the full wrath of Owen Coyle for the first time after their derby defeat against Blackburn Rovers.

The furious boss revealed some home truths after the final whistle following a poor performance at Ewood Park.

Goals from Nikola Kalinic, Jason Roberts and Gael Givet handed Sam Allardyce’s side a convincing victory, which ensured that Wanderers would remain in the bottom three at least until Saturday’s crucial game against Wolves at the Reebok.

And Coyle pulled no punches in assessing another hammer blow to the club’s hopes of avoiding relegation.

“I said to the players at the end that in my experience as a player, if I knew I had given my maximum and I had been beaten by an opponent that turned out to be better, you can sleep at night,” he said.

“But we did not, individually or collectively, get anywhere near our standard and that’s what leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”

Coyle hinted that he would make several changes for the midweek FA Cup game against Spurs, which now takes a backseat in terms of importance given Wanderers’ current league predicament.

The visit of Wolves now assumes even more importance – and the manager is looking for an immediate response from the players he felt did not pull their weight in the derby.

“There is no getting away from it, that was a poor afternoon’s work,” he said. “I have told them that collectively.

“You now do one of two things, either go and do something about it or go and feel sorry for yourself.

“If you feel sorry for yourself then you’re no good to me, and you’re certainly no good to Bolton Wanderers.”

Defeats for Hull, Wigan, Wolves and Sunderland over the weekend means that the Whites still have four other clubs within three points of them in 18th position in the Premier League.

And although Coyle was not basing his prediction on what he had just witnessed at Ewood Park, he remains adamant that he can still lead the club out of the bottom three in the final 12 games of the season.

“We always knew it would be a challenge,” he said. “When all is said and done, when you come into a club in the bottom three, you are there for a reason.

“But I think we are good enough not to be in there.”