JOHN McGinlay has no hesitation in spelling out the significance of tomorrow's basement derby crunch at Maine Road.

"The Arsenal game was a big one but this is even more important," says the hero who shot a hole in the Gunners' title hopes and raised hopes of Wanderers launching a successful survival mission.

"If we can get the win we want it will keep them down and open up a bigger gap. The big thing about Monday's win is that it means we can go there feeling a bit more relaxed, with more confidence in our own ability."

The Bolton players are determined to prove the doubters wrong and believe they can build on the foundations of their second Premiership win. There has been a genuine annoyance that they were written off before a ball was kicked. They've struggled, there's no denying that, but the early beating of Blackburn and Monday's win against Arsenal suggest survival is not a lost cause.

David Lee is convinced Monday's win can be the springboard to safety. "The Arsenal win was a great stepping stone for us," says the winger. "It's proved to people that we can do the business, especially against good teams."

But he refutes the suggestion that the Rioch Factor was the only inspiration. "People blew it out of all proportion about Bruce Rioch coming back," he explains. "I'm not saying it didn't give the game a bit of an edge - being the Sky match made it a big game in itself - but we didn't raise ourselves any more than we usually do.

"Every game is a big game in this division and, believe me, we do go out to give our best every time - not just in the high profile matches. "There will be an edge to tomorrow's game because it's another derby and we both need the three points. But it shouldn't matter who we are playing and what the circumstances are. The performance against Arsenal showed people how determined we were to win and we've got to make sure we show that same determination tomorrow."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.