Megson set to be a Wanderer

Gary Megson was expected to be confirmed as Bolton’s new manager today after giving Leicester “no choice” but to let him go.

The 48-year-old, who completed barely six weeks of his three-year contract at the Walkers Stadium, should be in charge for Sunday’s Premier League match against Aston Villa.

Foxes chairman Milan Mandaric had already rejected two approaches for his manager in the past week but said in a statement last night on the club’s official website, www.lcfc.co.uk: “Gary left me with no choice last night (Tuesday) when he informed me he wanted to leave Leicester and talk to the Premier League club.

“I made it abundantly clear Bolton’s interest was neither welcome or invited but it was evident to me that following a meeting requested by Gary following last night’s home defeat by Sheffield United his loyalties and heart lay elsewhere.”

Bolton are believed to have agreed to pay Leicester around £300,000 in compensation in order to secure the services of Megson, who replaces Sammy Lee in the Reebok Stadium hotseat.

Lee left the club last week following a disastrous start to the season.

Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Arsenal – overseen by caretaker manager Archie Knox - left Bolton rock bottom of the table.

Knox was set to take charge for the final time tonight in the UEFA Cup Group F opener against Portuguese side Braga.

The former Manchester United and Rangers number two was cagey about whether he would want to remain as a coach under the new regime.

“Let’s see if they have someone in place at the weekend and make a decision from there,” he said.

Megson is a renowned disciplinarian, a policy that has yielded mixed results in his managerial career to date.

After unspectacular stints at Norwich, Blackpool, Stockport and Stoke, he performed a remarkable rescue act to save West Brom from relegation in 2000.

Two years later, he led them into the Premier League and although they were immediately relegated, they bounced straight back the following season.

However, his relationship with the club broke down and he was dismissed.

Megson was then parachuted into Nottingham Forest in January 2005 but could not save the club from relegation to the third tier of English football for the first time.

It is questionable whether Megson was Bolton’s first choice, with chairman Phil Gartside revealing ex-Liverpool, Rangers and Newcastle manager Graeme Souness had ruled himself out of the running.

Gartside was also refused permission to speak to Birmingham boss Steve Bruce and Real Sociedad manager Chris Coleman, formerly of Fulham.

Megson will be charged with turning around a run of form that has yielded only one league win and a total of five points all season.

Goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen revealed he and his team-mates had discussed the managerial speculation that had surrounded the club since Lee’s departure.

“We talk a little bit but at the end of the day it’s out of our hands,” he said.

“Whoever’s coming in, you’ve got to make sure you’re playing well so he picks you.”

Jaaskelainen is confident the new manager will be inheriting a squad more than capable of turning Wanderers’ season around.

“If we keep playing like we have the last two or three games, we’re going to start getting results,” he said.

Jaaskelainen, whose contract expires in the summer, refused to be drawn on whether the choice of manager would influence his decision to remain at the club.

“The only thing I’m thinking about is this football club at the moment,” he said.

And Jaaskelainen’s most pressing task is to help Bolton get off to a winning start in UEFA Cup Group F tonight.

Their cause should be helped by the return of top scorer Nicolas Anelka from a thigh injury.