Bolton boss Neil Lennon hopes experienced strikers Emile Heskey and Eidur Gudjohnsen can lead his side to victory at the Riverside tonight.
The Trotters head to Teesside six points clear of the relegation zone having taken just three points from their last four matches.
Saturday’s 4-1 fiasco at Nottingham Forest marked a low point during Lennon’s tenure, after the Celtic man steadied the ship when taking over at the Macron Stadium in October.
But ready to face a wounded Boro side that saw their nine-match unbeaten run ended by Leeds at the weekend, Lennon hopes his experienced players can come to the fore.
“(Boro) are a strong side and unfortunate not to win the game against Leeds,” Lennon told the Bolton News.
“But they are not in the forefront of my mind. I am expecting a reaction from my team.
“We have got (Emile) Heskey fit now and (Eidur) Gudjohnsen will feature, so his experience may be beneficial to us as well.”
Eyebrows were raised before Christmas when Bolton signed former England striker Heskey, now 36, on a short-term contract after being released from Australian side Newcastle Jets.
That followed the signing of Icelandic front man Gudjohnsen, 36, who returned to the club for a second spell after spending two years at Bolton between 1998 and 2000.
Both are in contention to feature at the Riverside tonight, but elsewhere Lennon has plenty of selection headaches.
Bolton will have to make at least four changes to their line-up tonight with goalkeeper Andy Lonergan ruled out, along with Tim Ream, skipper Matt Mills and Filip Twardzik.
Boro were last beaten by the Trotters on home soil in November 2008, when goals from Gretar Steinsson, Matty Taylor and Johan Elmander earned Bolton a 3-1 win at the Riverside.
No comments:
Post a Comment