Coyle Back on Familiar Ground

After spending the majority of Gary Megson's reign booing and hissing in near-pantomime fashion, Bolton fans got their wish last month as the man once dubbed "The Ginger Mourinho" was relieved of his duties at the club. With Bolton in 18th place in the league chairman Phil Garside decided a change was needed and, under fairly acrimonious circumstances, Owen Coyle was lured away from rivals Burnley to take up the reins at the Reebok.

Many of the Turf Moor faithful view the move a sideways step rather than genuine progression but, after Coyle revealed fellow manager Mick McCarthy laughed at the size of the transfer budget available at Burnley, he clearly thought that the bigger kitty on offer at Bolton would stand him in better stead to avoid the drop.

One of the keys to Bolton's survival will be Coyle's ability to change Johan Elmander's fortunes in front of goal. Signed for a club record transfer fee, believed to be around £8 million, Elmander was brought in as a direct replacement for Nicolas Anelka. However, he has only managed seven goals in 38 appearances for the club and with Leeds United marksman Jermaine Beckford being linked with Bolton the Swede could soon be out in the cold.

Owen Coyle has inherited a squad with players who are more than capable of surviving in this league. With Jussi Jaaskerleinan, the much sought after Gary Cahill, England under-21 midfielder Fabrice Muamba and captain Kevin Davies making up the spine of the team Coyle will feel confident of proving that he made the right choice in leaving Burnley.

Davies, who is recovering from illness and hopes to be fit for this weekend's match, appears to be a fan of his new boss. He said: "I had a meeting with him on Wednesday morning and we had a good chat - I'm quite impressed with him so far... The players have said that the training has been really good - just energetic and full of enthusiasm."

The new manager could be forgiven for wincing when he saw his fixture list - back-to-back games against high-flying Arsenal before the visit of some familiar faces as his old colleagues at Burnley come to play at his new home.

However, Coyle has already achieved what Megson could not. After playing more than 50 games for the Trotters between 1993 and1995 he has been heralded as the prodigal son by many supporters. Megson proved that without the backing of fans the manager's job can be an unwinnable battle, but it seems this isn't something Coyle will have to worry about for now.

Coyle also has an outside chance of winning some silverware and while FA Cup final betting slips are unlikely to feature the club's name a good run should generate some much needed revenue.

In other news, Aston Villa are currently dominating the Carling Cup betting after they won the first leg of their semi-final against Blackburn.