Sack just part of the job, says Allardyce

Providing they can defend a slender one-goal advantage against Lokomotiv Plovdiv tomorrow, Bolton will clinch a place in the Uefa Cup group phase.

For a club that was slumped in the First Division and heading nowhere when Allardyce took charge in 1999, the achievement would mark yet another high in an astonishing rise to prominence.

Yet Allardyce knows that, like Ferguson, should his fortunes change, then past glories will not insulate him against the harsh realities of life at the cutting edge of the Premiership.

He feels that all managers risk losing their jobs if they do not produce results. "I have always said what drives me on is what is around the corner, and that is the sack," Allardyce said.

"It seems unfair but that is what happens to us all if we do not do well over a period of time, no matter whether you are Alex Ferguson, Sam Allardyce or Jose Mourinho. If you do not get the results you are paid to get, it is inevitable people will turn against you and want a change. That is the scenario we are always working against."

In a managerial career which has taken in stints with Limerick, Blackpool and Notts County, dissent against Allardyce has been rare. He did face some grumblings of discontent last season when Bolton picked up just two points in a nine-game spell that included six successive defeats, but the chairman Phil Gartside and the major shareholder Eddie Lewis kept faith with their man and were rewarded with a magnificent sixth-placed finish, way above anyone's realistic expectations.

"The owners gave me great backing last year because even when I lost six on the trot I knew my job was not under threat," the Bolton manager said. "I really appreciated it at the time and I would like to think I have paid them back handsomely since then.

"Maybe I am fortunate because I have never really been booed anywhere I have managed, but I suppose it will come somewhere along the line.

"And when it does, it will be because of the expectations which have been raised by making this club better than it has ever been and the fans getting used to that sort of success. When it slips or slightly goes off the boil, the fans will show their displeasure - it is something you just have to accept."

Allardyce's most pressing concern is to juggle a squad which could be significantly short on defensive options by the time they get to Bulgaria.

The right-back Nicky Hunt is out with a broken leg, the Spanish midfielder Ivan Campo is also out, while the experienced midfielder Gary Speed, the defenders Radhi Jaidi and Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye are all major doubts with back, hamstring and groin problems respectively.

"If Radhi and Abdul don't make it we are struggling in defence because we have no bodies," said Allardyce, whose Bolton side face a testing local derby against the Premiership surprise package Wigan on Sunday. "We are hopeful all three will recover but those two are especially important to make sure we have a solid back four."