EVERY manager knows that the buck stops with him, and Owen Coyle is no different.

He’s the focal point, he picks the team, decides the formations and knows his future rests entirely on the results his team produces on the pitch.

But he still needs a little bit of help.

Maybe this international break gives everyone a little breather – players and staff – because emotions were certainly raw after the game at Hull on Saturday.

Matches have come thick and fast so far and there has always been another game on the horizon to put things right. But now everyone has got a couple of weeks to think about what has gone wrong, and how they are going to try and put it right.

The chairman has had his say, things have been written, and there’s no getting away from it, results have got to improve We are not where we should be and I’d only hope that everyone goes away and realises it’s time to pull our finger out.

Speaking as someone who knows Owen well, I can say that no-one within the club cares as much about getting this right as he does. He is hurting but he won’t give up – it’s not in his character. Even back in his playing days you could see when things weren’t going well he didn’t want to let anyone down and sometimes that can heap even more pressure on you.

Players will have read what was in the paper on Monday morning, when Phil Gartside warned that these kind of performances and results will not be tolerated, and they’ll have their own opinions about it, I’m sure. I just hope they accept the responsibility is a shared one.

I’ve been down to the training ground and I’ve seen the preparations being done for games. And I’ve also been there on a Saturday afternoon and seen Owen doing his nut in on the sideline when the players don’t do what was asked of them.

He’ll be the one judged by the results, and he knows that, but sometimes there’s only so much you can do.

They get everything given to them on a plate, they get all the motivation, but when they cross the white line it’s down to them to a large degree.

It seems to be on the flip of a coin what kind of Bolton Wanderers we see at the moment.

And what that means for the future, and for Owen, only time will tell.

*****

WHAT was it that Bill Shankly used to say? “Football is a simple game made complicated by people who should know better.”

Well funnily enough, it was a lad from Anfield who showed us the way we need to go about things if we’ve got any illusions of getting back into the Premier League at the first attempt.

Last week I was warning people not to expect too much from Jay Spearing but I have to say, his debut was spot on.

He was always an outlet for the defenders, put himself about and made some great interceptions in the penalty area, and even though you’d expect him to be up for his debut, he was man of the match by a country mile.

He showed you how easy the game can be, and why we need to stop trying to be so clever on the ball when there’s just no need.

A case in point was Chris Eagles on Saturday. We were 1-0 up in the first half and attacking when he tried a fancy reverse pass when a normal one would have done. It ended up looking ridiculous and 60 seconds later Adam Bogdan was picking the ball out of his own net.

I don’t want to pick on individuals but little things are making big things at the moment. We should be making sure we stay in games but instead, these bad decisions are allowing teams to get their tails up.

We can’t be too proud to put our foot through the ball if need be, and I’d say that’s definitely the case at the back.

I think Tim Ream was guilty a couple of times of trying to over-play and that’s been the case on a few occasions since the start of the season.

We need to get those basics right and earn the right to play good football before we attempt all that fancy stuff, and that’s more so the case here in the Championship than anywhere else.

*****

DAVID Ngog looks to have got his timing spot on after scoring for the reserves the other night.

It would be great to think he’d be available against Watford next weekend to give Owen another option up front, be it from the bench or otherwise.

It’s a game in which we really have to go for broke. They got spanked against Derby and haven’t made a great start, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see two up top – and that might mean finding a combination within Kevin Davies , Marvin Sordell and Benik Afobe.

It hasn’t clicked so far, and I think Sordell in particular has only shown what he can do in little flashes.

I do think he’s got it in him to score goals and I know myself that all you need is a couple to fall for you, and you can’t do any wrong. But at the moment things seem to be getting on top of him.

Young Benik has looked lively when he has come off the bench, although you wonder whether it’s right to put all that pessure on such young shoulders.

*****

IF you wanted proof that teams were going to raise their game against us this season – look at Burnley.

They haven’t won a thing since turning us over at Turf Moor, where they looked like world beaters with the extra impetus of Owen’s return and all the nonsense about his staff.

And it was the same at Hull on Saturday. We’re the ex-Premier League team and we’ve got a target on our back but I’m not sure that message has sunk in.

We set our gameplan up and look fine, but then get a bit shocked when teams start to fight back.

Back before a ball was kicked, people were telling me about 100 goals and 100 points, and I said they were dreaming.

There are good teams down here, and good players. And more importantly, clubs like Blackburn are paying £8million for Jordan Rhodes because they know how important it is to get back into the Premier League.

It’s money we don’t have and we need to make up for it with fight.

*****

LASTLY, I’d like to thank everyone for the welcome I got returning home to Bolton for the last five weeks.

I’ve met a lot of new people and old friends and it reminded me what a great town we’ve got.

I hope to see you all again soon.