Coyle: Squad strength paying off

Owen Coyle says Bolton Wanderers are already reaping the rewards of a stronger squad.

Prior to Wednesday's 1-0 Barclays Premier League victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Trotters were unable to fill their bench for much of January and took only one point from their previous five matches to drop away from the European places.

Coyle recruited defender David Wheater and Chelsea loanee Daniel Sturridge to boost the numbers and the latter proved the match-winner with an injury-time strike after a back pass from Wolves defender Ronald Zubar.

Big Decisions

Coyle felt it was just desserts for his side, saying: "We haven't had any luck in the last month. Probably everything that could conspire against us has gone against us.
"We've worked very hard in the January window, I think it's been a very good window for us. We've kept the group together, as I stressed all season we would, and we've added to that.
"It wasn't easy to leave David Wheater out given he had a quality debut in the FA Cup on Saturday against Wigan. It wasn't easy to leave Robbie Blake out of the 18 but that's because we've built up the squad. That gives me some selection dilemmas but as a manager I've shown all throughout my career I'm not afraid to make big decisions."

Young Talents

Coyle was also able to welcome back Lee Chung-yong after a month away with South Korea at the Asian Cup, and the Scot was full of praise for his winger.
"It's like getting a £10m player because this boy is going to be an absolute star," Coyle added. "He's been away the last month, he flew halfway across the world to be here on Monday.
"I spoke to him on Monday and he was shattered but he was terrific in the game. It wasn't easy taking him off but if I'd left him on there was the chance fatigue kicks in and we can't risk him because he's such a valuable player.
"So we took him off knowing we had terrific young talents in the shape of Rodrigo and Daniel Sturridge coming on, and that augurs well for the rest of the season."
The result lifted Bolton back up to eighth place and Coyle is hoping they can continue to put their poor run behind them at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
He said: "It's a massive three points. It was important we got back to winning ways, it put us back in the top half of the table where we've enjoyed being for the large part of the season, but to stay there you have to continue picking up points.
"What we've got to do now is recognise we've got a tough game at Tottenham and go and kick on. But we had a great win against Tottenham earlier in the season so we'll go there in good heart and look to be positive in the game."