Bolton start to get that sinking feeling

THIS is the season when nobody can afford to feel safe. In any other campaign, a home defeat for a team nestled snugly in mid-table would generate nothing more than a few glum faces and half-hearted cat-calls.

Instead, Bolton’s frayed nerves meant that they were jeered to the rafters by their own followers here, the disaffected majority painfully aware that any dropped points — especially at home — could prove fatal, even for a team sitting 11th in the table before kick-off.

The players, too, are feeling jittery, with Bolton defender Gary Cahill admitting there could be no excuses for the team’s “terrible” performance.