SUNDERLAND 0 Wanderers 2: THE sight of Henrik Pedersen, clearly wounded but bravely soldiering on, should satisfy even those with the gravest of doubts that Big Sam's Foreign Legion have it in their hearts to fight for the Wanderers' cause.

The dashing Dane reluctantly left the field 10 minutes from time, nursing a painful shoulder injury but knowing he had served his club above and beyond the call of duty.

Heavily strapped, he had helped Wanderers systemically demolish Sunderland's survival dream, nipped in for the crucial strike that gave Bolton fans a rare chance to wallow in the luxury of a two goal lead and given his manager the satisfaction of knowing that his big gamble had paid off.

Under any other circumstances, Pedersen would not have played. He was progressing well after damaging his shoulder when he fell as heavily as a steeplechaser in the draw with Manchester United just three weeks earlier. But even he thought the Sunderland game had come too soon.

Yet Allardyce knew the powerful striker's wholehearted determination would be vital in the heat of such a crucial relegation battle so he decided to take the risk - a "calculated gamble" as he put it. Physio Mark Taylor bandaged him up and, after Pedersen tested the strapping and his confidence in training on Friday, he was restored to the front line.

And no-one would have known any different if he had not fallen heavily again ... and stayed down!

Fortunately, Wanderers already had a sixth Premiership win in the bag and had eased two points clear of the drop zone, consigning one of their rivals to almost certain relegation into the bargain.

And there was more good news today with Pedersen confirming that he will be fit to resume the battle for survival at home to Spurs next Monday.

"It's nothing really," he explained, shrugging off doubts over his fitness..

"I just feel a little sore. I'm really looking forward to the Tottenham game now.

"That was originally my target but the manager asked me to play so I tried the strapping in training and did okay so I decided to give it a go. Luckily it went well."

The fact that, for the first time in their history, Wanderers fielded an all-foreign starting line-up at the Stadium of Light might offer narrow-minded souls the opportunity to question the wisdom of having no home-grown players flying the town's flag.

But financial circumstances have dictated the way Allardyce has assembled a squad to keep those supporters' Premiership dreams alive and so it was that, with Simon Charlton ruled out with a knee injury, there was not an Englishman in the team until Kevin Nolan replaced Youri Djorkaeff for the last five minutes.

Four Frenchmen, two Danes, and one each from Finland, Iceland, Jamaica, Spain and Nigeria made up the League of Nations but no all-England 11 could have worked any harder or performed any better to achieve one of the most important victories of this or any other season.

What he did not inherit, Allardyce has begged, stolen and borrowed to weave a rich tapestry of talent, experience and in some cases youthful enthusiasm.. And, even if it does mildly irritate him that French is often the dominant language in the dressing room, it is these players on whom he is more than happy to rely in the eight remaining games that will determine Wanderers' Premiership fate.

For it is arguable that no Bolton team in modern history has boasted such a wealth of talent that was on view on Wearside on Saturday.

Mick McCarthy had hoped his first game as Sunderland's third manager of this traumatic season would be the spark to ignite a dramatic resurgence - an escape of Houdini proportions - but even he had to bow to the talents of Djorkaeff, Jay-Jay Okocha and Bernard Mendy. As he licked his wounds and spoke of "reality checks", the straight-talking former Republic of Ireland manager had the decency to pay tribute to "Big Sam" and repeat his prediction that, with such talent at their disposal, Wanderers will beat the drop.

Allardyce also believes they have what it takes - "quality and experience" - to earn him the distinction of being the first Bolton manager in more than 40 years to secure a third successive season in the top flight.

There are still points to be gained - a minimum of nine, possibly 11 to be sure - and some tough tests to come but Wanderers have shown in recent weeks that they have the class. All they needed was a slice of luck to turn performances into results and they got it when Okocha produced a magical piece of footwork to bewitch Michael Gray then watched in amazement as Thomas Sorensen turned his attempted cross, fiercely hit but a cross all the same, into the net.

The second also had a touch of good fortune about it as Sorensen managed to save but failed to hold Mendy's shot and the eager Pedersen beat the static Joachim Bjorklund to the rebound. But the build-up, started by Okocha on the left and switched via Djorkaeff and a neat step-over by Per Frandsen to the mercurial Mendy on the right was typical of the slick interplay Sunderland simply could not live with.

Okocha was at his dazzling best, Mendy's pace and penetration was breathtaking at times and Pedersen, although spurning one glorious chance just before half-time, worked the Sunderland centre-backs in just the way Allardyce had hoped.

The two-goal cushion was crucial. McCarthy's new charges - as disheartened as they were - tried all they could to salvage something and a single goal lead might have caused no end of panic. As it was, the Wanderers' back four, marshalled magnificently by the evergreen Gudni Bergsson with the again impressive Florent Laville by his side, worked tirelessly and bravely to keep only their fifth clean sheet of the season.

Sunderland - admittedly weakened by the absence in midfield of Jason McAteer, Gavin McCann and Kevin Kilbane and with Jody Craddock missing from the defence - did not help themselves. Julio Arca, Kevin Phillips and Kevin Kyle all squandered chances with hesitant finishing and long before the end they looked as dispirited as the massed ranks of fans who turned up to hail McCarthy as the Messiah and soon realised that it takes more than a new manager to steer an entire club out of the doldrums. With their skill and endeavour - Okocha, Frandsen and Ivan Campo were still straining every sinew to keep command of the midfield right up to the final whistle - Wanderers did not allow the occasion get to them and, layer by layer, they stripped the cloak of confidence from their hapless opponents.

"It was really important we kept our nerve," Pedersen said. "We definitely played the best football and we deserved the three points.

"But this was only one of nine very important games for us. We have to build on this and get another win against Tottenham.

"At least we have a lot of players who have been in this situation before, especially those who were here last season and that will help us. You could

see Sunderland were not used to it and they were the ones who looked nervous."