ONLY a win will satisfy Sam Allardyce when Wanderers put their top six credentials to the test against Birmingham City.

The Bolton boss has delighted in matching the best but it is the results against the rest that will keep them at the top end of the Premiership.

Wanderers exceeded all expecations beating Liverpool and drawing with Manchester United and Arsenal in successive games but, tough task master that he is, the manager will not be happy if his players let their standards drop now.

"We've got to win this one to make a statement," he said. "It was disappointing we couldn't beat Manchester United and make it three home wins on the trot but, if we can beat Birmingham, we can send out a message that the Reebok Stadium is a fearful place to come to.

"If we only draw, that will be three points out of nine from three games and that would be disappointing considering the mood we are in and the way we are playing at the moment.

"We've got to be on the front foot and play as well as we have been playing if we are to beat Birmingham."

Wanderers know from the experience of three Premiership seasons that, despite upsetting some of the top teams, it is results against mid-table and bottom-half rivals that make all the difference in the final reckoning.

Coupling today's clash with Steve Bruce's Blues with next week's trip to West Brom, Allardyce said: "The next two are bigger games than the three we've just played.

"They were the icing on the cake but these games, like games against Southampton and Norwich, are our bread and butter.

"We have to beat teams like these to stay out of the bottom end of the table and nearer the top.

"If we slip up, all the effort we put in to gain the points against Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool will have been wasted.

"Beating Liverpool was great for me but because it said so muich about how far we have come as a team, but Birmingham is the big challenge now because the players have to get to the level they did against Liverpool, Man United and Arsenal.

"If we don't, they will punish us. They are so well-organised, so fit and very difficult to break down."

Allardyce has warned his players about the danger of complacency but can take heart from the attitude of his fringe players in Tuesday's Carling Cup win at Yeovil.

The eight Premiership regulars rested for the Yeovil trip are all expected to return but five-goal top scorer Henrik Pedersen, who responded to being dropped to the subs' bench at Arsenal by scoring in successive games, is pressing to return to the starting line-up.