Klasnic cameo proof Trotters ready for next step

OWEN COYLE brushed aside thoughts of Europa League qualification but he is convinced the strength of his squad could be enough to lift the Trotters to new heights in the Barclays Premier League.

Coyle watched Ivan Klasnic clamber off the bench to seal a dramatic 3-2 win over Aston Villa which moved his side up to sixth place with nine games of an productive season remaining.

Klasnic is yet to start a game in the Premier League this season and Coyle believes it is the kind of selection problems that keep the likes of Klasnic on the bench that bode well for the club’s future.

Coyle said: “Ivan’s finish was special. He’s got that in his locker. I told him before the game it wasn’t easy picking this team because there is more than 11 players who deserve to start at the moment.

“We’re enjoying it but we won’t get carried away with it. We saw what happened in January when we went down to 15 fit players. It can come back to bite you on the backside.”

Klasnic blasted home from close range after David Wheater had flicked back a deep cross from Lee Chung-yong.

It capped a stunning recovery from the home side while Ashley Young’s missed 70th-minute penalty cost Villa dear.

Gerard Houllier’s men led twice through Darren Bent and Marc Albrighton but Young saw his bid to put Villa 3-1 up from the spot scuppered by a fine save by Jussi Jaaskelainen which triggered the Bolton revival.

The win leaves Villa just three points off safety but Houllier is pinning his hopes on the return from injury of central defenders James Collins and Carlos Cuellar ahead of the crucial clash with Wolves in a fortnight’s time.

Houllier reserved special praise for Luke Young, who played in an unfamiliar centre-back role in his first game since December.

He said: “Luke did extremely well and I must give him some applause.

“He helped us because we had James, Carlos and Richard Dunne all out. I think in two weeks we might get James back and hopefully Carlos too. We need them because we will have Ciaran [Clark] suspended.”

But Houllier was left scratching his head over quite how his side failed to ease their relegation fears, as they largely dominated and could have been further ahead even before Young’s penalty miss.

Bent missed a fifth-minute sitter before making amends when he prodded home Kyle Walker’s cross 10 minutes later. Bent almost grabbed a second when he headed an Albrighton cross against the post.

Daniel Sturridge headed over before the excellent Gary Cahill scored his first with a header from Martin Petrov’s corner in first-half injury time to send the home side in on level terms.

Bent shot straight at Jaaskelainen when clean through before Villa got their deserved second on 64 when Albrighton swung a Stewart Downing cross into the net. But Young’s penalty miss changed the game.

The home side surged back and were level five minutes later when Cahill scored his second from a Stuart Holden corner at the second attempt. And four minutes from time Houllier’s agony was complete.

Meanwhile, Coyle is not looking too far ahead. He said: “We now have the chance to win a very tough quarter-final with Birmingham and move through to the semi-finals of the FA Cup.”