GRETAR Steinsson believes Gary Megson has made significant progress with Wanderers since he joined the club 19 months ago.

Despite virtually sealing Premier League safety with a goal-less draw against Sunderland, there was still an air of negativity around the Reebok at the final whistle on Saturday.

The Iceland international, who signed for the club in January last year in the midst of a relegation battle, freely admits the Whites have plenty of work to do in the summer, both in the transfer market and on the training pitch.

But he reckons the pessimism that was evident in spells this weekend is wide of the mark, considering the more optimistic view within the camp.

“I think we should be a little bit more positive about the things that are going on,” he said. “When I came to the club there was a lot of negativity. We have been bringing in good players, changing a lot of things and when you look at the amount of money we are putting into it, we are making good progress.

“Last season was a struggle. This one has been much, much better. Overall, I think we can be satisfied with what we have achieved.

“There are a couple of things we could do better and we will have to work on those over the summer and come back even stronger.

“We are a small club still compared to a lot of others in the Premier League and we have to build on it season by season.

“ Maybe you should not compare us with the clubs that are spending lots of money, for example Sunderland. Look at what they spent — I would like to have one third of that.”

Steinsson accepts the Whites’ performance against Sunderland, particularly in the first half, was not one to set the pulses racing.

“We wanted to start the first half with a much higher tempo than we actually did,” he said. “We weren’t winning the first balls, or the second balls, and they were causing us a bit of trouble in the midfield. They got a lot of shots on goal.

“But I think it was a totally different game in the second half. We got at them, got our crosses in and I think we were unlucky not to come away with three points. That’s three we’ve drawn in a row now, with two clean sheets and I suppose that’s a positive thing.”

The extent of Megson’s summer transfer activity might well depend on the club’s finishing position, which barring a ridiculous swing in goal difference, could now be anything between 11th and 16th. But in Premier League terms, that could mean a variation of £4.5million in prize money — something that has not escaped the attention of the full-back.

“The other teams are too far away now, I don’t think they will catch up,” he said. “But there is still the target of getting as high as possible. That is very important for the club. Each place in this league is worth a lot of money, so we have to focus on getting to 11th or 12th.”