DOUBTS over the fitness of Joey O’Brien could force Gary Megson into a more adventurous selection policy against Everton.

With Gavin McCann suspended, the Irishman looked the obvious choice for the holding role.

But with the young midfielder suffering from a knock sustained in training, the lack of a suitable alternative could see Riga, Ricardo Gardner or Ebi Smolarek pushed back into the first team frame.

Megson said after the disappointing performance at Spurs on Sunday that he would consider making changes for the first of two home games in five days.

And with the manager asking for more creativity, circumstances could well force him to abandon the five-man midfield utilised almost exclusively through the first three months of the season.“One thing that we have been found guilty of, not every game this season, but certainly a few of them, is that we have become a bit one-dimensional,” he admitted. “We need to try and change that.”

For more on this see Wednesday's edition of The Bolton News.