ZAT Knight reckons a “kick up the backside” from Owen Coyle has given him extra focus in Wanderers’ fight to escape the bottom three.

The centre-half made his return to first team action in Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat against Everton, his first start in the league since September.

And while Knight freely admits his early-season performances were not up to scratch, he is determined to make the most of the second opportunity that will come his way now that David Wheater has been handed four-game ban.

“I started the season maybe not as well as I should have done,” he told The Bolton News. “The manager gave me a kick up the backside.

“I felt I deserved it at the time but my training has picked up and I felt I deserved to play against Everton.

“I'm not saying Gary or Wheats had bad games. But I felt I had waited long enough.

"Sometimes someone else's misfortune is my gain.

“I felt I did alright to a certain extent against Everton. “Wheats’ sending off does give me a few games and a window to show what I can do.”

Knight has no doubt that the situation he has stepped back into is a dangerous one.

Wanderers are two points adrift in 18th place, but are still in touch with Sunderland and Wolves, who are both struggling for form.

"I think we have to be realistic, we are in it,” the defender said. “When you are not winning and you are down there, it doesn't matter whether it's the first game or 12 games in, you are in it.

“We have to find something and change something to get out of it.

“We have been very fortunate that when we have lost, teams around us have lost as well.

“We are still close to other teams. We've got a tough game at Tottenham but we have to find something from somewhere.

“Hopefully, it will give us some fighting spirit and we can kick on because we have a tough Christmas coming up.”

Wanderers travel to in-form Tottenham this weekend looking for their first win at White Hart Lane in seven years.

And Knight reckons that any points picked up in North London could change fortunes for the better.

“Hopefully I can make that difference and the team can go forward and we can get on a winning path before Christmas,” he said.

“We have to try and put it right at Spurs. And I know everyone keeps saying 'next week, next week.' But that's all we can concentrate on.

“Fortunately for us the teams around us haven't picked up points as well. We are still in touching distance.”