SCOTT Brown believes Wanderers’ “ruthlessness” was the difference in his side’s defeat at the Toughsheet Stadium.

The former Celtic man refused to comment on circumstances around red cards for Dion Charles and Ian Evatt in the second half.

But he did praise Bolton for their clinical performance in the first 45 minutes, where Victor Adeboyejo converted three right-wing crosses to make the game safe.

The Fleetwood boss, whose team has now failed to win in their first four games in league and cup, said: “It starts tough because we lost a goal after three minutes. They get that momentum.

“They had great shape and great structure behind and in front of the ball.

"It’s that bit of quality in the final third they had that was a lot better than we had.

"Their wing backs were bolting in behind, a first time delivery across the goal and their striker wanted it more and was switched on more than our defenders.

"It comes down to desire but also ruthlessness. They had that ruthlessness and we didn’t.

"The ball was a magnet to him (Adeboyejo). We had five defenders in the box at one point circulating him and he found the space.

"We had a few chances we probably should have scored from but we end up scoring off a corner in the 94th minute. We didn’t give ourselves a chance.”