Neil Lennon refused to be fooled by the narrow margin of Bolton’s 2-1 defeat at Norwich last night.
Two wins and two defeats in his opening matches in charge have given the former Celtic boss an insight into his own squad and the strength of the opposition in the Championship.
Fighting his way to safety is the immediate  task for Lennon with the Irishman honest in his assessment of his side’s failings.
“We were second best, Norwich deserved to win the game,” he admitted. “We had a spell about 10 minutes towards the end but it was nowhere near enough. The better team won.
“We didn’t do anything the way we planned things. Our set piece delivery was atrocious. We lacked a bit of legs in midfield, a bit of physicality, and our two centre halves struggled against their strikers.
“Going forward we looked okay, Max (Clayton) should have scored but there wasn’t enough, we didn’t work their keeper anything like enough. That’s the benchmark and that’s where we strive to be, where Norwich are.”
Off the park there could be changes at the club with a Thailand based group looking at a £40m takeover.
Bryan Marcar, BEC-Tero managing director, is quoted in the Thai press as saying: “As for the bid to take over Bolton, I must admit I have a close relationship with the club’s president.
“The club has plenty of property and, most importantly, they have their own stadium, hotel and football academy.
“In terms of their financial status, they made profits between 2004 and 2006, but suffered losses since then, with their debt now standing at £150m.
“They’re quite ready in almost every aspect. That will help us benefit in many ways, especially when it comes to Thai players playing in England.”