'Tough' test for Bolton Wanderers at Birmingham City as Owen Coyle challenges players to stay on track

MOMENTUM: Coyle wants players to carry on

By Kimberley Richards

Bolton Wanderer’s boss Owen Coyle knows it will be tough to keep up the momentum of his side’s win over Watford as they travel to face Birmingham tonight.

Goals from Matt Mills – his first for the club – and Kevin Davies got the Trotters’ season back on track after a poor start.

The win took Bolton in to the top half of the table and Coyle has urged his players to carry the form seen on Saturday forward to St Andrew’s.

“It’s going to be a tough game on Tuesday and Birmingham have some players that I know well because they played for me before,” said Coyle.

“They have taken four points from their last two games and last season they came very close in the play-offs.

“Lee Clark has come in and has added one or two to that as well, so we are well-versed on the quality that they have.”

Coyle accepted that expectations are high at the Reebok, but believes his side are ready to cope with the unrelenting nature of the league.

But the Scot hopes his players build on the win against Watford as they look to improve on a poor away record so far, with losses at rivals Burnley and at Hull.

He said: “Three points were of paramount importance on Saturday and we got them on the back of some terrific football within the game.

“We have to be ready for the demands of the Championship and straightaway, after winning a game, the focus is now on Birmingham.

“It’s not rocket science to see that we have played two away league matches and we have lost them both.

“We had a good away record last year in relative terms to the Premier League, so we know what we are capable of doing.”

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