GARY MEGSON spoke wistfully of this victory serving as a springboard for his team, but there was little conviction in his words, as a meeting with Liverpool looms large on the horizon.

Bolton flew out to Lisbon today for the second leg of their UEFA Cup last-16 tie against Sporting without 12 first-team players.

Bolton manager Gary Megson is down on numbers for the UEFA Cup match against Bayern Munich tomorrow at the Allianz Arena.

Bolton manager Sam Allardyce is set to name an unchanged line-up for tomorrow’s trip to Fulham.

Depleted Bolton were forced to make seven changes for today’s FA Cup third-round tie away to Coca-Cola Championship high-fliers Watford.