STUART Pearce went further than ever in praise of Wanderers in the build-up to today's Reebok derby by hailing the Whites as "one of the teams of the season".

The Manchester City boss, a self-confessed admirer of what Sam Allardyce has achieved in seven years at the Reebok, says the Whites have put Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal in the shade.

"If you stop the season at this moment in time, I would say Bolton and Sam Allardyce have got a case to say: We've been the best side in the country this season.' "Man United would disagree a little bit, but not too many others would come forward and say they've done better." Pearce told City's official website.

"They're a good side, well organised, they know how to play and have got a good manager.

"Bolton have always played to the strengths of their players and are now consistently a top six or eight side and that's a nice consistency to have. They keep achieving and it's credit to Sam for that.

"They have a lot of football in their team, but they're still a second ball side, they still get it forward."

Wanderers have been criticised in the past for relying on a physical approach.

But Pearce sees subtlety as well as strength in the Reebok team.

"Sam's added Anelka, who we know is a world-class player, on his day," he added.

"Diouf's a very good player and could grace most teams.

"You know what you're going to get from Bolton.

"But there's a lot of football in there with Gary Speed and Campo. Sam's got a lot of good footballers."