MANAGERS are not in a position to dictate which referees can or cannot take charge of their games.

But Gary Megson has a point when he suggests he, his players and their supporters now have so many issues with Rob Styles that the Hampshire official is no longer capable of refereeing Bolton games in the right manner.

Twice in the space of seven weeks, Styles has made high-profile, match-turning decisions that have gone against Wanderers.

The penalty he awarded against Jlloyd Samuel for a perfectly good tackle on Ronaldo at Old Trafford on September 27, was a king-sized howler for which he later apologised.

His decision to disallow Gary Cahill’s “equaliser” against Liverpool at the Reebok on Saturday was less cut and dried, although it was debatable whether Kevin Nolan fouled Pepe Reina as Gavin McCann’s corner swung in.

The fact remains, however, that Wanderers no longer have confidence in Styles and the ref knows that.

And, while such a situation should not affect his judgment, there will always be suspicions.

We’ve now got a similar situation to the one Sam Allardyce had with Barry Knight and Mike Riley and it would surely be best for all concerned if Mr Styles and Bolton Wanderers were kept well apart in future.