sport

MEGSON SEEKING MORE GOALS

Megson - looking for goals.

Bolton manager Gary Megson has told his players to develop a ruthless streak or risk being sucked into a relegation battle for a second consecutive season.

After four years of top-half finishes, the Lancashire club ended last term just a point above the Barclays Premier League's bottom three, and the main reason for that downturn in fortunes was plain to see.

Despite conceding just 54 goals over 38 games last season - a better record than 11th-placed Tottenham - a return of only 36 goals scored very nearly proved disastrous.

Nicolas Anelka, who was sold to Chelsea early in January, was comfortably Bolton's most prolific player with 10 in the league, while only Kevin Nolan (five) and the now also departed El-Hadji Diouf (four) scored more than three.

Trotters fans will have the chance to see Megson's £11million remedy to their striking problem, Sweden international Johan Elmander, for the first time in Saturday's opening Premier League clash with Stoke at the Reebok Stadium.

But the Bolton boss has called on all his players to take more responsibility for goalscoring this time around.

"Nicolas Anelka ended up our top scorer even though he only played half the games. Diouf has left and he got us a few goals," Megson said.

"What's got to happen now is that the players who have come here have got to chip in, but they're no different to the ones who've been here quite a while.

"All our recognised back four from last season, I don't think there was a goal between them, and you're not going to get too far if you're not scoring goals."

Despite Megson's call for collective responsibility, the majority of pressure will inevitably be heaped on the shoulders of Elmander.

The 27-year-old arrives with a big reputation after goal-laden spells with the likes of Brondby and Toulouse, who he helped qualify for the Champions League in 2006-07.

"He works hard, he's got a good touch, makes good runs, he's intelligent and he's got a record, albeit in Europe, of getting goals," said Megson.

"So we're hopeful he can do all those things here at Bolton."

When Megson was appointed as successor to Sammy Lee last October, Bolton were entrenched in the bottom three after a disastrous start to the season which saw them pick up just one win in 10 games.

The chances of a better start look promising this time around as Wanderers face the Potters, Newcastle, West Brom and Fulham in their first four games.

But Megson gives short shrift to any suggestion of an easy ride in the opening weeks.

"Hopefully we can get a good start and build on that because you saw last year what happens when you get a really poor start," he said.

"One win out of the first 10 games is going to cause you huge problems. Hopefully we can get over that obstacle."

Of his team's first four opponents, he added: "Two of those clubs (Stoke and West Brom) have got huge momentum from having been promoted and every game in the Premiership is going to be difficult.

"Fulham won four games out of four towards the end of the season, so they're not doing too badly. We took 11 points out of the last 15, so we've got that momentum although there's a huge gap between May and August.

"That kind of attitude won't be allowed to exist - 'we've got two promoted teams, therefore that's six points, and Fulham didn't do too well so we'll be flying' - the only place that will get you is down at the bottom of the table and we've got to guard against that."