Kevin Nolan column

By Kevin Nolan
Bolton captain

Read my answers to your questions

My player of the week - Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga.

Malinga was brilliant to watch - but what is that haircut all about?

I was flicking through the channels at home on Wednesday, alternating between various football matches and the Cricket World Cup.

It seemed as though South Africa were cruising when Malinga took four wickets in as many balls.

It was unbelievable to watch and Malinga was brilliant, despite the weird action and the even stranger hairstyle.

Back to business with Bolton this weekend and a home game against Sheffield United.

There has only been eight or nine of us around at the training ground during the international break.

I don't mind it too much because we play a lot of five-a-sides to keep ourselves sharp. I like to think that if we entered a five-a-side tournament now we would do pretty well!

With so few first-team players around there is not much you can do in terms of match preparation, so the focus is on retaining your match sharpness.

The downside is that there is quite a lot of running drills involved.

I always hope that the international players return injury free and on the back of some positive results.

Nicolas Anelka, for example, scored France's only goal in Lithuania on Saturday and that should bring him back full of confidence.

When you're winning you want the games to keep coming but we lost three in a row before the break, therefore I think the international programme has came at a good time for us.

I have been trying to evaluate what has gone wrong for Bolton over the last week and discussed it with several of the lads still at the training ground.

The Premiership is a tough league but we have a good side and should have done much better over recent matches.

The manager Sam Allardyce has had his say in no uncertain terms - though I think it would have been a lot worse a few years ago.

He is bitterly disappointed with the performance of his players in recent games.

Sam has been fantastic to his squad this year, giving us weekends off when possible, and we should be repaying him for that.

I had been giving Tal Ben Haim a lot of stick before he joined up with the Israel squad but he was superb against England

Why the poor form? Quite honestly I think it is because a few weeks ago we had a four-point cushion between us and the team in sixth - and we became a little complacent.

We became a little bit soft and thought that we would not be caught.

Bolton are now one point clear of Everton and need to rediscover the determination that has characterised most of our season.

The important thing now is that everyone pulls in the same direction. I really believe in the strength of the team spirit at our squad and now is the time for togetherness.

Adversity is all about a team's response - and I expect us to do so in a positive way.

Part of this comes down to confidence.

Poor results affect the best players in the world and the dent it has on a footballer's self-belief inhibits the way he plays.

I know from experience that when my confidence is down I am less likely to try something ambitious.

But I don't think confidence is an issue at Bolton - we know that if we work hard and stick to the basics form will return and with it results.

Our first training session with the whole squad back was on Thursday afternoon. I drove in for it with a slight feeling of unease.

I had been giving Tal Ben Haim a lot of stick before he joined up with the Israel squad. He said very little except to agree that a team like England should beat Israel.

Tal was superb against England - keeping our front players shackled - and after the goalles drew I knew I would have to take on the chin whatever came my way.

Thankfully, he is man who prefers a knowing smirk to a barrage of abuse.

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Kevin,
When you are near the end of your career would you ever come to the US to play in the MLS?
Raj Purohit, USA

At the end of my career I might not be good enough to play in the Premiership.

If an offer came in from MLS and the family was in favour then I don't see why not. Certainly, it would very much have to be a family decision because it would be a big step.

Which of the three English clubs left in the Champions League do you think have the best chance of winning it?
James Kay, England

I was a Liverpool supporter as a youngster and was in Istanbul to see their amazing win over AC Milan, so I would like to see them win the trophy again.

I think Manchester United, though, are looking really, really strong while Chelsea have performed well in Europe.

I certainly think an all-English final is possible - and I hope Liverpool is one of them.

Who does your dad support when Bolton play Liverpool - the team he follows and who you supported as a child?
Jamie Cowell, England

My dad is now a Bolton fan, no question about it. He wants Bolton to finish above Liverpool so that he can give all his mates stick - he is a proper Super White now.

He used to go to all the games apart from those in London because he always got lost.

Whenever we played in the capital he used to turn up at the ground with most of the match already finished.

I remember one fixture at Charlton when he turned up just as the game was finishing.

Hi Kevin,
First of all I just thought I'd say that your column is a great read. What do you think of Rafael Benitez's idea of Premiership reserves team joining the lower leagues in order for the players to gain experience?
Anthony, Swansea, Wales

What he said was very interesting - and it would be fascinating to see whether adopting such a system would help young players develop more.

I can understand what he is saying about reserve football being a waste of time.

However, what would happen to the teams that play in the lower leagues at the moment?

It would be very tricky.

Kevin will continue to answer a selection of your questions each week throughout the season. Send us your questions using the post form in the top right-hand corner.