Coyle: Bolton can stay in the Premier League and have FA Cup run

Bolton Wanderers boss Owen Coyle believes that it is possible for the club to have an FA Cup run and stay in the Premier League.

The Trotters beat Millwall 2-0 sending themselves into the quarter-finals of the historic competition, even though they are currently fighting for survival as the sit 19th in the league.

And Coyle reckons a winning run in the cup could boost their confidence and help their Premier League performances improve.

“Anybody just now wants safety in the Premier League, that goes without saying but I think you can do both. I think we can get ourselves safe in the Premier League and have a cup run,” he said.

“We’re certainly enjoying winning games and when you do that it breeds confidence, it helps players.”

Meanwhile Coyle has admitted he always knew this season would be tough but he’s hoping that now he is slowly getting back some of his long term absentees, Bolton can avoid relegation.

“We obviously knew this season was always going to be a season of transition because we inherited a team over two years ago [who were] second bottom of the league. We addressed that, last year we were terrific. This year, in the pre-season we had three broken legs and three cruciate ligament injuries,” he added.

“So, we know the reasons why we had a slow start. There were five players out who would have started in our team but bit by bit we’re getting one or two back.

“We’ve still not got the likes of the Chung-Yong Lees and the Stuart Holdens who would play for most teams in the Premier League and that’s been a blow to us but we have a group of players here who we know can win games and can keep us in the Premier League and by doing that we’ll be in a great position come the summer.”