WANDERERS could lay claim to being the fittest team in the Premier League after it was revealed their stamina levels were up to 50 per cent higher than they were at this stage last season.

Chelsea arrived in town this afternoon as red-hot favourites, having won on their last five visits, but according to assistant manager Chris Evans, it might well be the Whites who run rings around Phil Scolari’s title-chasing side.

Gary Megson is famed for the fitness levels of his squad – and every ounce of that effort is likely to be needed if the country’s best away record is to be dented at the Reebok.

Chelsea need victory to set a new Premier League record of 11 successive away victories.

But the Blues will come up against a very different prospect than the one they faced last October, when Salomon Kalou’s goal was enough to earn a 1-0 win that spelled the end for Sammy Lee’s reign as Bolton manager and a chance for Megson to turn things around.

“Within a few months of Gary coming to this football club, the work levels increased by 40 per cent in certain games,” Evans, pictured, claimed. “And that hard work has continued through the summer.

“Pre-season isn’t something that just lasts for a few weeks, it consolidates you through a whole year.

“The manager has a particular reputation that his pre-season will make sure you can put a good shift in for the entire year. Trust me, in Austria, Greece and here at Euxton, the lads worked very hard indeed.

“I don’t know whether we are the hardest working team in the Premier League or not but I know we work as hard as we possibly can do.

“In any game your stats vary but whether we win, lose or draw I know those players come in at half-time and full-time with their shirts wringing.

“Without getting too much into cliché, rarely does talent come before graft. Wanderers’ supporters will always side with the player who puts in the shift and wears the shirt with pride.

“I’m just chuffed to see the team are getting some points to go with that hard work now.”

There are few better examples of ‘the shift’ Megson asks of his players than the one Johan Elmander produced on his first outing for the club against Stoke.

According to figures supplied by ProZone, the Sweden international ran nearly eight miles on his debut.

“Johan is a particularly good athlete,” Evans explained. “Against Stoke his running stats were excellent. It’s difficult to put statistics to a centre-forward position because there are so many different formations you can use which dictate how much or how little running you need to do. But against Stoke, Johan produced the best aerobic stats from a player in his position for a number of years at this club.”

Elmander’s impressive start was brought to a resounding halt in his second game when a hamstring injury sustained 15 minutes into the game at Newcastle put him out for three weeks.

He struggled for fitness until recent weeks, going without a goal for more than 10 hours of football, but to the delight of Wanderers’ assistant Evans, made a stunning return to the scoresheet with three goals in the last two games against Middlesbrough and Sunderland.

“It was unrealistic to expect him to come back and hit the road running after the injury,” Evans said. “Slowly but surely his fitness levels are getting back to what they were.

“I think he almost tried too hard when he came back, so the manager mentioned to him that he needed to relax a little bit. As a result, Johan is now enjoying what he does best, and that’s knocking the ball into the back of the net. His history in other countries shows his ability to do that.

“He enjoys scoring goals but he has received no stick from anyone inside this football club. He has gone out every day to do his best and it’s absolutely wonderful to see him go out there and gain his rewards.

“He always puts a good shift in and even when he wasn’t scoring, his contribution to the team was very good.”