Bolton Wanderers were almost inevitably beaten in their first match in December after “sweeping the boards” for player and manager of the month for November.

The Trotters’ Scottish supremo Owen Coyle was unsurprisingly named manager of the month after Bolton’s rise to the EPL’s top five with three wins and two draws in five games.

And the newly-prolific Swedish striker Johan Elmander picked up the players’ equivalent after a month in which he scored three goals, including a wonderful solo effort at Wolves to take his season’s tally to eight.

 

So it was that Wanderers lost as soon as December’s fixtures began, going down 1-0 to near-neighbours big-spending Manchester City at Eastlands last Saturday.

Elmander is a reported target for EPL rivals Liverpool in the January transfer window. But he said this week that he would stay at the Reebok until his contract runs out in the summer.

And he added “I have never been a player that goes after money, I have always chosen with my heart,” before saying “things have been working out great” since Coyle became manager.

This coming Sunday sees Bolton take on Lancashire neighbours Blackburn, now managed by former Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce.

Wanderers’ American midfielder Stuart Holden is back in first-team contention after missing two EPL games with a thigh injury.

However, they will lose midfielder Chung-Yong Lee for up to six January games as he has been included in South Korea’s squad for the Asia Cup, which runs from January 7^th to 29^th.