KEVIN Davies has urged his team-mates to prove last season was just a blip.

Wanderers enjoyed four successive top-eight finishes before last term’s battle with relegation.

But the striker’s fifth goal of the season helped Gary Megson’s side seal a superb 3-1 win at Middlesbrough on Saturday – their third victory in four games.

And Davies now wants 12th-placed Bolton to push on and re-establish themselves as a Premiership force.

“The confidence is gradually getting higher and higher and we’ve got to start believing that we can get to where we want to be again – and that’s a top-10 side,” he said. “Last year was one of those seasons we want to write off. We underachieved and we want to get back to where we were.

“We’ve got to look to steady the ship after last year, but we definitely want to finish in the top half and if we can start stringing a few results together then we can start setting new goals for the season.

“We can start looking up now rather than behind.”

Davies was quick to claim the opening goal at the Riverside after Gretar Steinsson’s header clipped the back of his head on the way in. His strike paved the way for Wanderers third away win of the campaign – one more than they managed all last season. But the 31-year-old now wants the Reebok club, who travel to Sunderland on Saturday, to improve at home as they look to establish themselves in the top half.

“We just need to do a little bit better at home because we’ve dropped a few points against teams who we should have beaten, but the confidence from the two away wins and a good performance against Liverpool has given us a big lift,” he said, “We’re making the right strides forward and we can go on a bit of a run now.”