We daren't take Bolton lightly, insists Sir Alex

As a man who loves the sport of kings almost as much as the beautiful game, Manchester United's manager knows the time to kick on is when the race reaches that last, often frenetic straight at Easter time.

Bolton, with key players missing and having just been humiliated by Wigan's 10 men, appear easy meat for a United team bent on revenge for their Reebok defeat in November.

Ferguson knows also that history favours his team once they get their noses in front at this time of year and a three-point lead over Arsenal, in uncertain form, would be an ominous sign for Arsene Wenger.

Liverpool's short trip along the M62 on Easter Sunday for the Old Trafford fixture as bitter as any traditional derby will be seen as the major hurdle on the horizon to Ferguson's still-burning ambitions. But while conceding that game is 'pivotal', Sir Alex insisted last night that strugglers Bolton must take equal billing, an indication of the attitude that has taken unprecedented honours to his club.

He said: 'There are big games coming up and Liverpool is one of them, especially when you consider that Chelsea are playing Arsenal on the same day.

'But when you see what happened at Derby on Saturday, not taking our chances, you realise you can't take anything for granted. Sure, there are big weekends ahead but other matches are just as important.'

United have lost four League games this season but the defeat at the Reebok — when Ferguson was sent to the stand and subsequently given a two-match touchline ban — was the hardest to take. Bolton had not beaten their neighbours at home in the League since 1978.

Sir Alex rounded on referee Mark Clattenburg and Patrice Evra complained bitterly about Kevin Davies' more robust qualities.

Megson will be without midfield heartbeat Kevin Nolan, who has twice scored at Old Trafford — one of them a winner — and defender Gary Cahill, badly bruised by Jason Koumas's redcard tackle at Wigan.

But Ferguson expects Bolton, third bottom and two points adrift after four successive League defeats, to make life as difficult as they did in November, although Nicolas Anelka is no longer around to hit the winner.

Sir Alex said: 'They've got Kevin Davies up front and he'll do everything he possibly can to unsettle us.

'He's a physical lad and we have to deal with that. But Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand have the height and ability. Losing Jussi Jaaskelainen is a big blow for Bolton, he's one of the best goalkeepers around.

'If we perform well and take our chances, we'll win. But it's important we respect our opponents. Some of our football recently has been terrific and there's good penetration in the team.

'It's encouraging that we're making so many chances — perhaps the forwards just need to relax a little in front of goal. Then the goals will come.'

Megson, under heavy fire himself for sending out a weakened team to lose their UEFA Cup tie at Sporting Lisbon, hopes an ear-bashing from their own fans will help his players to embarrass United a second time.

He said: 'On Sunday we let ourselves down but more importantly we let down the fans, especially those who went to the game and sat behind that goal. We are all perfectly aware of that.

'We've had some bad results but that was probably the worst given the circumstances — I'd say it's the only time that we've let people down by not going about it in the right manner.

'After the game, as we were getting on the bus, one fan was using the word "unacceptable". We're not kidding ourselves — we know it was unacceptable.

'It's not much solace but what it has done is galvanise them to make sure it doesn't happen again. We've nine games left to pick up as many points as we can to get out of the trouble we're in.'

Bolton's home match with Manchester City on Saturday looks eminently more 'winnable' given City's lamentable away record but Megson insists there will be no controversial team changes this time.

He revealed: 'Nolan is playing with injections at the moment just to get himself out there — if you had more like him, life would be a lot easier. He and Gary Cahill are extremely doubtful.

'We're two points adrift and we need spirit. Not just that, we need quality as well.'