Spot on for promotion

RESULTS are the be all and end all; RESILIENCE is what they'll need to pass some of the trickier tests and if REPETITION is the only way to get the point over, Colin Todd is prepared to go blue in the face.

He's been preaching the same gospel since the start of the season and, at the risk of being boring, the Burnden boss is going to hammer home the same message for the next 15 games ... or at least as long as it takes to get the job done. Because, at the rate they are going, there is no chance of the promotion race going the distance.

Wanderers are so far ahead of the rest, it's going to take snookers to catch them.

But Todd refuses to set targets, other than the proverbial "next game" and, if the words lack originality, so what? He'll trot out the cliches as long as his team keeps winning.

Wanderers came through stormy waters to record their seventh successive league win on Saturday. Coming on the back of their stunning midweek success at Stoke and allied to another round of favourable results elsewhere, it was a win that surely leaves the rest fighting for the minor placings. Yet the manager refuses to let up. "I keep saying the same things but it's all about repetition, reminding people of the good habits that have built our reputation," he explained. "I've been saying the same things since the start of the season. We need a strong mental attitude and a physical toughness, combined with the ability we know is in the team.

"That will get us through. And the message is still the same."

It's awesome to hear, yet Todd still believes his team has a lot more to offer.

They weren't at their best against Birmingham, that's for sure, and it took a disputed penalty 12 minutes from time to secure their 18th win of the season. But there was never a promotion campaign that didn't have the odd hiccup.

Wanderers were, in fact, well in control. Jamie Pollock had given them a 29th minute lead, lighting up a turgid opening when he put the finishing touch to the outstanding skills of Nathan Blake to make it an incredible four goals in successive games. Then Trevor Francis made a double substitution - half of which threatened to spring a surprise result. Anders Limpar, a Bolton target earlier in the season, didn't hit the heights but ex-Stockport beanpole Kevin Francis certainly did, making every fraction of his 6ft 7ins frame count to set up Paul Devlin's equaliser within two minutes of replacing Paul Furlong.

Confidence took another knock when Pollock had a second goal inexplicably ruled out for offside and the frustration even extended to John McGinlay landing himself with his first yellow card of the season when he slammed the ball down in disgust, feeling he'd got the wrong end of another bad decision.

But Gerry Taggart and Chris Fairclough made sure Francis didn't make more of a nuisance of himself and, mercifully, it was football of the finest calibre that was to eventually earn Wanderers their win.

There was pace, precision and penetration as Bryan Small, Blake and Alan Thompson combined to create the opening and, although Martin Grainger can argue with some justification that he didn't deserve the red card, the Blues players were stretching it when they claimed the tackle that denied McGinlay a clear scoring chance was a fair one.

Grainger was adamant: "I made no contact," he insisted, "but the referee was a disgrace all through the game."

McGinlay kept his nerve, as usual, to dispatch the penalty for his 23rd goal of an incredible season and offered a contrasting and, it has to be said, more plausible view. "Maybe the sending off was harsh," he accepted. "You don't like seeing an opponent sent off. But he caught me, there's no question about that."

Francis the Boss doesn't begrudge Wanderers their 12 point lead at the top of the division but he did feel aggrieved at the result.

"It's disappointing when you get back to 1-1 and see the way in which the game was won and lost," he complained.

"Overall, Bolton proved they are the best team in the league. They are a very, very strong outfit.

"But from where I was sitting, I wasn't sure it was a penalty. The referee obviously felt a foul had been committed but to punish the player twice is a bit harsh.

"It was a big decision to give a penalty and the game was won and lost there. But, even at 2-1 our boys felt there was a strong claim for a penalty when Taggart climbed all over Francis in the box." Taggart might say the same about Big Kev's challenge when he headed down Grainger's lofted cross for the Birmingham goal but, if the Ulsterman enjoyed the benefit of any doubt, he deserved it.

Strong in the tackle, powerful in the air and careful in possession, he proved once again that what he has openly admitted was a "nightmare" first season has left no lasting scars.

With Taggart ably assisted by the unflappable and ever-present Fairclough and Pollock marauding in midfield Wanderers had the basis for a battling performance on a day when they only rarely got into their silky stride; further evidence of the all-round abilities even the manager marvels at.

"Gerry and Chris have been magnificent," Todd reflected. "In fact Gerry's been a colossus.

"And we've again had impressive performances from the players who have come in and taken their chances. Bryan Small has done well, as has Gavin Ward, who is keeping an excellent goalkeeper out of the side at the moment. "We still have John Sheridan and David Lee who we can bring in. That shows how strong the squad is.

"Jamie Pollock has done well again and he'll get even better. He's playing in a position which is not his best but he has a tremendous attitude. He wants to be a winner and all my players are showing that.

"But I still think there's a lot to come from all of them."

They could certainly make life more relaxing for the fans and the manager. It took a vital intervention by the hard-working Blake to prevent Devlin snatching a second equaliser and the anxiety was plain to see when Todd and Phil Brown leapt off the trainers' bench in premature jubilation when they thought referee Uriah Rennie had blown for full-time.

They thought it was all over ..! Surely it soon will be.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.