Big Sam's toughest fight yet

SAM Allardyce is facing one of his most daunting managerial challenges as he tries to stop the relegation rot setting in at the Reebok.

Even before Saturday's dismal derby defeat, he voiced fears that Wanderers were in danger of becoming detached from the pack.

Now their position is even more perilous.

Worse still, he has precious little scope for change. That, we can only assume, is the reason why he refused to do a 'Fergie' and give his players a tongue lashing for surrendering so miserably at Maine Road.

Unlike the United manager, who three weeks earlier publicly condemned his team's character following their 3-1 defeat in the Manchester derby, Big Sam appeared reluctant to vilify the players who had performed so woefully and submitted so alarmingly.

Can you blame him? With injuries and suspensions leaving him bereft of alternatives, he knows he will have to send out the same team, more or less, for Saturday's Reebok showdown with Blackburn.

Kicking them when they are down is hardly the best way to boost morale ahead of another crucial local derby.

What is demanded of him now is to summon up every ounce of his motivational powers to get the modest, mini-revival back on course. For unless Allardyce, his coaching staff and psychologists can inspire a marked improvement - in commitment as well as performance - Wanderers will be cast so far adrift as to need a miracle.

Despite his reluctance to pillory the players who looked so frighteningly inadequate, the manager did not duck the big issue.

Weighing up the consequences of the defeat and the perils of being entrenched in the bottom three, he admitted: "Yes, it puts pressure on you and, of course, for that reason it can affect your players. But you try to keep the pressure off them as much as possible.

"Their responsibility is to make sure that, when they get over that white line, they get the results that we need. We will keep going and look back on what we achieved against Leeds and Chelsea and hopefully get to that level again."

The manner of the victory at Elland Road and the performance against Chelsea, when they came within three minutes of taking another prized scalp, had generated a feelgood factor - a belief that Wanderers, despite missing a handful of first team regulars, had the wherewithal to climb out of the drop zone.

But much of that good work on the confidence front was undone as those self-same players slipped, slid and plumbed the depths on the rain-sodden Maine Road pitch.

Supporters, many soaked to the skin in the uncovered North Stand-Kippax corner, must have wondered whether they were watching the same team that took Claudio Ranieri's star-studded side to the wire, just seven days after hammering four more nails in Terry Venables' coffin.

Not a single shot to cheer in the first half and even less to get excited about in the second, save for a late flourish when Jermaine Johnson and Jay Jay Okocha gave the previously redundant Peter Schmeichel the chance to show that he is still up to it at the age of 39.

Okocha's tame attempt at a chip summed up the whole afternoon - a real damp squib.

It was not so much the defeat that left the fans demoralised and disheartened as the lack of spirit their players showed in a game of such importance.

Allardyce might have let them off lightly, in public at least, when he chose to highlight the fact that he was missing five or six players - Per Frandsen, Gudni Bergsson, Mike Whitlow, Bruno N'Gotty, Bernard Mendy and Gareth Farrelly - who had previously been regulars in his team.

But his use of phrases such as "not enough fight in the side", and "we lay down" were serious condemnations in the context of a local derby.

There was implied criticism of Okocha and Youri Djorkaeff when the manager said his "big players" had not performed and neither could argue as they were completely overshadowed by their City equivalents, Eyal Berkovic and Nicolas Anelka.

While Wanderers huffed and puffed, the two stars of Kevin Keegan's Blues made incisive and decisive contributions - the Israeli flitting around midfield, skimming the surface like a water-boatman, while the less gainly Frenchman never let-up in his probing of the Wanderers' back three, who were repeatedly forced on to the back foot as their own midfield became increasingly wasteful of possession.

In truth, Anelka did not look an eight-goal Premiership man when he squandered an early Berkovic assist with a wild left-foot shot but the move served as a warning and, after Kevin Horlock had flicked on a Berkovic corner to tee-up skipper Steve Howey to head City in front on 25 minutes, Wanderers knew precisely where the dangers lay.

Knowing it is one thing, being able to do something about it is quite a different story.

The fact that they went into the half-time break just one goal behind was due in no small way to Jussi Jaaskelainen producing a smart save to prevent Sylvain Distin's header converting another Berkovic corner.

But there was hope that, if Djorkaeff and Okocha could impose themselves, all was not lost.

City, who started the game just four points better off, were not that impressive themselves. But the performance went from bad to worse.

The passing deteriorated and City's second and ultimately decisive goal illustrated Wanderers' shortcomings - a wayward pass from Djorkaeff offered Anelka the opportunity to sail into clear water before tacking round to set up Berkovic, who was lucky to see his shot glance off Simon Charlton's valiant attempt at an inerception and deflect wide of Jaaskelainen's reach.

Charlton, again playing out of position in the back three in response to the manpower crisis, was one of the few Bolton players to emerge with any credit. Ricardo Gardner was another who, although constantly struggling to cope with the slippery surface, at least played with the spirit demanded in a derby duel.

Kevin Nolan did not lack commitment in the problem right wing-back role but a less lenient referee than Jeff Winter - a Chris Foy or a Mike Riley for instance - might have had him sheltering from the constant downpour long before Allardyce replaced him 15 minutes from the end.

It was strangely refreshing to see Mr Winter keep his card in his pocket when the young Wanderer clattered into Danny Tiatto in the first half (maybe exacting some revenge on the Aussie for the beating our lads are suffering in the Ashes!) and even more amazing when he let him off with a yellow in the second when he did little to enhance Anglo-French relations by cynically hauling back Distin on the edge of the box.

Nevertheless, that booking - his fifth of the season - has put him in line for a suspension which will only add to Wanderers' already crippling selection problems.