KEVIN Davies expects Gary Megson to adopt a different gameplan at the Reebok next season.

Wanderers came under fire from their own supporters at times last term for their lack of creativity, despite the campaign ending with a solid 13th-placed finish in the Premier League.

And while club skipper Davies reaped a career-best 12 goals from being the fulcrum of that approach, he claims this summer’s arrivals in the transfer market will give the manager reason to adopt a more aesthetic approach.

“I think we all know we need two, maybe three, more players for a bit more competition and quality,” he said.

“It was difficult last season with such a small squad. We have had to play the way we do in order to get results, pure and simple, and we have done that.

“I think we were more flexible than people give us credit for. Everyone knows we tend to start with a 4-5-1 and change to a 4-4-2.

“I enjoy the role I play — we do play a lot of balls up to me but I think we are trying to change that. The manager is trying to get us to pass the ball around a little bit more and use me as a different option.”

Miguel Veloso, Lucas Biglia and Tom Huddlestone have all been closely monitored as potential signings, suggesting Megson will be backed with hard cash to compete in the summer window.

Davies missed out on his target of a top-10 finish last time around but believes, with a few choice additions, the squad will be better equipped to match his expectations next season.

“We’re not too far away from that,” he said. “Maybe we need that little bit extra, especially on the bench, to turn things around a little bit.

“We didn’t get into the top 10 and that is disappointing but a couple more players could help us.”

Davies found himself in the familiar position of being linked with a move to Hull City this week, with reports suggesting the Tigers were poised to make a £4million bid.

Wanderers brushed off an enquiry for the 32-year-old striker last summer, and Megson will be prepared to do the same should Phil Brown’s interest materialise over the next few weeks.

Davies has laid down firm roots in Bolton, and with his wife Emma expecting another child in a couple of months, a move to the North East seems unlikely in the extreme.

“I feel like I have been here forever at Bolton,” the front man said. “It’s my home and it has, without doubt, been the best time of my whole career.

“I have enjoyed every season since I have been at the club. I have played pretty much all the games, rarely been dropped, there has been no real downside.

“For someone who was released by Southampton six years ago, things have really managed to turn round.”

Davies takes no pleasure from the plight of his former club Saints, relegated from the Championship in administration just four years after dropping from the Premier League.

He ranks his second spell on the South Coast, then under the stewardship of Gordon Strachan, as one of the most unhappy of his career and one that makes him more appreciative of his current situation at Wanderers.

“Those six months were a real tough time in my life. But then I met Emma and settled down, got myself back in gear and got my life back in order because I was doing the wrong things there. I wasn’t playing much, trying hard to get back in, and it was a really difficult period in my life.

“It had been up and down for a while at Southampton and Blackburn — but now I am captain of Bolton Wanderers, still in the Premier League and really looking forward to next season.”