OWEN Coyle is confident Wanderers can beat the drop without Gary Cahill.

It is expected Chelsea will officially announce their new £7million signing today, making the England international the second most expensive export from the Reebok of all time, behind Nicolas Anelka, who also left for the Blues in 2008 for £15m.

Although Coyle accepts it will be hard to replace a player who had been the cornerstone of the Whites’ defence for the last four years, he believes his squad will cope with the 26-year-old’s departure to haul themselves away from the bottom three.

Speaking after Saturday’s 3-0 defeat against Manchester United, the Wanderers boss backed the likes of David Wheater and Zat Knight to raise their game.

“There’s no getting away from it, there’s never an easy time to lose a player of that quality,” he said.

“But we do have good players at this club. Zat and David played with a couple of niggles against Manchester United, but they stood firm and did their best against the world class talent they have.

“Dedryck Boyata is there, and if we’re able to secure the services of Tim Ream that will bolster it too.

“The important thing when you lose a player of quality is that you regroup, because the strength will be in your team.

“With regards to survival, yes, I’m totally convinced we’ll stay in the Premier League.”

Wanderers showed fighting spirit against United but slumped to a ninth successive defeat at Old Trafford thanks to goals from Paul Scholes, Danny Wellbeck and Michael Carrick.

After facing Macclesfield Town in the FA Cup tomorrow night, Wanderers have two more home games against Arsenal and Liverpool.

And Coyle wants to repay the support both he and the team received at Old Trafford by earning some all-too-rare home points in the coming weeks.

“I’m on record, and I will be every week, to thank the fans for that because it makes a huge difference when they feel their supporters are backing them,” he said. “It’s up to us to reward them, particularly at home, and that’s why it’s important we go into these next two games the right way. But I believe our young players are getting better all the time.”

Cahill was pictured at Stamford Bridge during Chelsea’s home victory over Sunderland on Saturday, and Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas was delighted that more than a fortnight of negotiations could now be brought to a close.

“He adds to a very solid back four that we have,” said the Portuguese coach.

“Gary is a player of tremendous technical qualities for a central defender, which is what we like, because of our possession when we build up from the back.

“He has good stamina and a good sense of anticipation, which were the characteristics we were looking for and we managed to get an England international.”