Jewell gives his troops battle plan

14 April 2012

Time for Sam Allardyce to reach for the stars and time for Paul Jewell to bring out that suit of armour.

Allardyce may not want to jinx himself by discussing it, but the prospect of a Champions League spot has emerged from Arsenal's late season stumble, dwarfing the UEFA Cup prize at stake when Bolton face sixth-placed Everton today.

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You beauty: Teymourian (right) after scoring Bolton's third goal

In contrast, the only silver in Jewell's sights is the ceremonial suit of arms his chairman Dave Whelan gave him earlier this year - an appropriate gift considering the battle now facing the Wigan boss.

Another defeat at Villa Park today would plunge Jewell even closer towards the bottom three.

Jewell bristled at the suggestion his players lacked the necessary fighting qualities but he does fear they have gone a bit soft. 'Milky' he called it. Unable to hold on to a winning position.

That was certainly the case on Saturday as Wigan failed to take advantage of Emile Heskey's first-half opener, allowing Nicolas Anelka to tap home an equaliser before Andranik Teymourian emerged as the most unlikely of heroes for Bolton with two second-half goals on his full Premiership debut.

Allardyce chuckled as he recounted the negotiation process that brought the 24-year-old midfielder from Aboo Moslem for £250,000 after he was spotted playing for Iran in last year's World Cup.

"We got his name from the agent and they told us the price," said Allardyce. "Over there that is a lot of money but it was a steal to be honest with you. We said what a lot of money that was going to be for us but we were only pretending, as you do when you negotiate!

"It was still a risk because of the cultural differences but it's a dream that is coming true for him."

Teymourian had the confidence to meet El-Hadji Diouf's through ball with a first-time shot under John Filan and then popped up with a header for the third goal.

In the clear: Teymourian (left) heads the ball away

Allardyce theatrically ducked any Champions League talk, even though he knows Bolton could leapfrog Arsenal into fourth place with victory at home to Everton.

Jewell, meanwhile, has no option but to confront the challenge facing Wigan as they prepare for the trip to Villa.

"We've got to fight and dig deep," he said. "There are a lot of twists and turns yet. West Ham won at Arsenal - who's to say we can't go to Villa and win?

"Relegation battles are notorious and you get some ridiculous results coming around. As far as I'm concerned it's still in our own hands."

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