Cahill stakes his claim for South Africa

GARY CAHILL might remain a largely unknown figure outside Bolton, but his manager Gary Megson has backed him to “be ready for the World Cup” if chosen for next summer’s finals by England manager Fabio Capello.

Cahill turned in another impressive performance in front of Capello during Bolton’s 2-1 success over Birmingham at St Andrew’s on Saturday – their second successive away win.

Megson feels Cahill has made big strides forward since deciding to quit Aston Villa and move to the Reebok stadium in January 2008.