The England defender has said he admires the work of which the Bolton manager has done during his time with the club and claims that despite the negative media coverage in recent months the Wanderers deserve their place in the Premiership.
"Sam has been fantastic for them, both in getting them to the Premiership and keeping them there" said the former Crystal Palace and Aston Villa player
"He's had to wheel and deal to get players to the club, but they've deserved to be in this league as long as they have, it's going to be a very tough game for us at the Reebok" he added