A dream return

Striker Kevin Davies told Fantasy Football Club he's set his sights on firing Bolton back to the Premier League.

"I've been sulking most of the summer and the holidays weren't great but once the fixtures come out you can start looking forward to it and re-motivating yourself and now I'm looking forward to it."
Kevin Davies Quotes of the week

Davies, 35, signed a new one-year deal with the club in May shortly after the Trotters were relegated from the top-flight at the end of last season.

And while he admits that life is different in the Championship, the told Fenners and Merse that he's ready to roll up his sleeves and scrap harder than ever for Owen Coyle's side.

"Teams are looking for a scalp; we've been in the Premier League for a long time so we know we're going to have to match teams up," said Davies.

"It's probably going to be more of a battle for us. We've got some top-class players who we've managed to keep hold of but we are going to have to scrap it out as well when we need to.

Horrible

Bolton's 11-year stay in the Premier League ended in May when they could only draw with Stoke.

"Getting relegated was horrible," said Davies. "I honestly didn't think it was going to happen. I know we left it later than late and it wasn't a pleasant summer.

"I've been sulking most of the summer and the holidays weren't great but once the fixtures come out you can start looking forward to it and re-motivating yourself and now I'm looking forward to it.

"It's another challenge for us - we've always had challenges at Bolton and this is the next one."

So why did Davies decide to stay with Bolton?

"I've been here nine years now so it's home for me - my family's settled. I love the club. Everybody knows how I feel about the club. They offered me the chance to stay and obviously I did.

"We'll see how this year goes; hopefully we can get them back into the Premier League and I can carry on playing. When you speak to a lot of the ex-pros they say 'just keep playing as long as you can' so I'm enjoying my football.

Surprised

Davies, who has notched 68 goals in 320 appearances for the Trotters, earned his first and only England cap in October 2010 when he came on as a substitute against Montenegro.

"I loved every minute of it," he reflected. "I was a bit surprised because I never thought the call was going to come. I would have loved to have won more."

Looking to the future, he added: "I've started to do my coaching badges now so it's a possibility that I might try. It looks a bit stressful so that might put me off. You never know."

Sign up to play Fantasy Football

Why not pit your wits against Fenners, Merse and the gang by signing up to play our Fantasy Football game?

Our free-to-play competition gives you the chance to take charge of two fantasy teams in the race to compete for £100,000 worth of prizes. It's not too late to get involved!