Kevin Davies is confident Wanderers can finish the season with a flourish, if only they start doing as they are told.

The belligerent Bolton striker had to watch from the sidelines as the European bandwagon that was rolling along nicely in December went dramatically off the rails.

Now, back in harness and as determined as ever, Davies believes the Whites still have what it takes to claim a UEFA Cup spot - but only if they listen to Sam Allardyce and get back to the basics that made them such a feared and formidable side in recent years. Once they had a reputation for being resilient, difficult to play against and difficult to beat, but recent performances have led the manager to admit they have "gone soft".

Davies reckons that, having lost heavily at Middlesbrough, Tottenham and Manchester United, the players can have no complaints.

"We have to agree with him," he said. "We've had a couple of heavy defeats; I was at the Tottenham game and it's not like us to fall away and conceded two or three goals so early. "The way we are conceding goals - not just the back four and the goalkeeper but the whole team - that's not the way we play. The team's not changed much over the season but, for some reason, we've stopped playing the way we used to play to win.

"We've got to get back to playing the way the gaffer wants us to play. And the sooner we do that, the better."

Davies, who made his comeback in the ill-fated derby at Manchester United a fortnight ago after missing six games with a foot injury, has been a pivotal figure in Wanderers success over the last four seasons. Fit again and determined to make up for lost time, he could be a key player in the remaining eight games as they attempt to put their recent horrors behind them and secure a top six finish.

Raring to go in tomorrow's crunch clash with Sheffield United - the club he supported in his youth - Davies says that, despite the recent run of results, he and his team-mates have never wavered in their belief that they can book a return ticket to Europe.