GUDNI Bergsson assured Bolton fans today that they can rely on the Foreign Legion to fight to the finish in the battle to beat the drop.

Wanderers fielded an all-foreign line-up at Sunderland on Saturday. It was the first time in the club's 125-year history that a team has not featured at least one Englishman - a statistic the Icelandic Reebok skipper described as "quite amazing".

But Bergsson, who regards himself as an adopted Boltonian after spending eight years of his life in the town, says the nationality of the players is not an issue.

"I think we have the right attitude," he said. "We are mostly seasoned professionals and know what's required. We want to play for each other, playforthemanager and play for this club."

With Huddersfield-born Simon Charlton ruled out with a knee injury, Bergsson led out the most cosmopolitan starting 11 featuring: four Frenchmen - Bruno N'Gotty, Florent Laville, Bernard Mendy and Youri Djorkaeff - and two Danes - Henrik Pedersen and Per Frandsen - alongside Jussi Jaaskelainen (Finland), Ricardo Gardner (Jamaica), Ivan Campo (Spain) and Jay-Jay Okocha (Nigeria).

All bar Laville and Mendy are full internationals and Bergsson, encouraged by the 2-0 Stadium of Light victory, believes they possess the talent and the experience that could be crucial factors as Wanderers battle over the remaining eight games to secure their future in the Premiership.

"I really hope we can but we can't get carried away," he warned as fans celebrated a victory that extended the lead over third-bottom West Ham to two points.

"West Ham got a good result (0-0 at Everton) and we've still got them to play. We certainly need more points.

"There is still a long way to go but we have to seize the day. We had to go there (Sunderland) and work hard. We've got a lot of experience in the side and we had good preparation for this match. But we have to take that same attitude into those remaining games."