SAM Allardyce is determined to continue playing to the strengths of his big-name players as he bids to keep Wanderers clear of the Premiership drop zone.

The Bolton boss believes Your Djorkaeff, Jay-Jay Okocha and Ivan Campo have the quality that will count in the final relegation reckoning and has no plans to sacrifice style for a more physical, direct approach.

"The style suits the players," the manager maintained as he prepared for Saturday's relegation showdown with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. "I'd have to take out Djorkaeff, Okocha and Campo and become a more aggressive, less fluent side.

"I could consider that but then we wouldn't retain possession, wouldn't be able to hold the ball and open up the opposition as much as we do."

Goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen suggested Wanderers might be better adopting a more direct approach after Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Liverpool when his opposite number Jerzy Dudek did not have a single save to make.

But Allardyce, bitterly disappointed that his players failed to take advantage of a below par Liverpool side, insists: "We are just missing a £12 million striker. If we had that, we'd be in the top half rather than the bottom half.

"Against a side that hadn't won at home in seven games, I thought we had a massive opportunity to get something. We played with enough confidence to have caused them more problems than we did but, ultimately, we fell foul of Michael Owen being back on song. We had opportunities to create but we didn't take them and when we did, we missed the target."