Boss Bans The "E" Word

Last updated : 10 February 2005 By Mark Heys
European football is being talked about once again in Bolton circles but Sam Allardyce has warned supporters and players alike to take things one stage at a time.

The Trotters boss has stated he will only talk about Europe if it is achieved and has warned of the dangers of becoming complacent with their lofty position.

Wanderers sat in fourth place and where seemingly cruising earlier on in the season only to go on a losing run from November to January and Allardyce told the Manchester Evening News that the team have to avoid a repeat of that.

"We'll look at the FA Cup after the Middlesbrough game, which is our most important at the moment.

"Everybody is talking about Europe again, but we need to follow the old adage of taking one game at a time.

"I'd like to leave talking about Europe until we've achieved it. The blueprint of the squad I'd want has been sitting in my office for two years. It isn't cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a necessity.

"We can talk about it if, and when, we achieve it. We can easily slip into a losing run because it has happened to us once already this season.

"We've got to learn from that experience and make sure it doesn't happen again.

"But this time I'm not encouraging the players to talk about Europe. We had too much of it when we got to fourth place."