Owen Coyle is edging closer and closer to the exit door following Bolton's woeful run of 12 defeats from their opening 15 league matches. On Saturday their misery at the Reebok Stadium continued as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat to an inconsistent Aston Villa side who had not won on the road all season. The poor result not only leaves The Trotters rock bottom of the Premier League but manager Coyle under immense pressure. The fiery Scot has now been installed as the second favourite in the Next Premier League Manager To Be Sacked Betting after his odds were cut to just 3/1 with Stan James.
With seven defeats in eight home matches this season you can see why the supporters are disgruntled. Boos echoed round the Reebok Stadium following their meek performance against Villa as the fans began to turn on their under-performing team. Bolton have now conceded a whopping 36 goals in 15 matches and with goals hard to come by in recent weeks, Coyle's misfiring squad look every bit the relegation strugglers. Bolton are currently priced at just 10/11 with Stan James to drop down to the Championship at the end of the season and these odds are likely to shorten even further if they remain bottom at Christmas.
However, despite Bolton's torrid run Coyle still appears to have the backing of chairman Phil Gartside...for the time being at least. Gartside defended Coyle in the aftermath of the Villa defeat and said that he was a big part of the club's long term plans. Coyle remains optimistic as ever and believes his side can pull themselves out of trouble, and with games against Fulham, Blackburn, Wolves and an out-of-sorts Newcastle coming up then this presents a good a chance as any.
Next up for Bolton is a trip to 14th placed Fulham as they look to avoid what would be a fifth consecutive defeat. Stan James have the home side as the odds-on 4/6 favourites for the six points, while Bolton can be backed at 9/2, with a draw available at 13/5.
Odd courtesy of Stan James.
