SUNDERLAND manager Peter Reid, desperate for a first home win of the year in tonight's crunch game against Bolton Wanderers, has angrily fired down speculation that his ace striker, Kevin Phillips, could be a £12m transfer target for arch-rivals Newcastle United.

"It is utter nonsense and there is no foundation to it," said Reid as he prepared his injury-hit troops for an important clash against fourth-bottom Bolton, who are one point behind the Wearsiders.

Over the season there have been tabloid stories linking Phillips with Arsenal, Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur - but reported interest from high-flying Newcastle came out of the blue.

Reid said: "It is one of those things that happen in football these days and I haven't spoken to him about it.

"If I spoke to Kevin every time his name appeared in a newspaper I would be living with him!"

Reid added: "If reporters have stories and they think they are true they have to write them. But this one is untrue."

Reid's view was backed by Phillips' agent Jon Smith, who said: ''We can only reiterate that there have been no discussions of any kind with regards to Kevin Phillips and the story over a possible transfer to Newcastle United.

''Kevin wishes to reassure all Sunderland fans that his only efforts at this time are entirely focused on helping Sunderland."

Reid has enough on his plate without a fresh Phillips saga. He has a growing injury list to sort out as he tries to halt an alarming slide.

He goes into tonight's game against his first club - managed by former teammate Sam Allardyce - without the services of internationals Emerson Thome, Gavin McCann, Claudio Reyna, Joachim Bjorklund and Julio Arca.

There is also a doubt about latest signing, Cameroon striker Patrick Mboma, who picked up a back injury while scoring on his full Premiership debut in the 2-1 defeat at Tottenham on Saturday.

"We have six of seven players out at the moment and that's a lot to have to contend with," said Reid.

"Even though we had a lot of injuries at White Hart Lane, we still finished with six or seven full internationals. But we have to go out and do it on the pitch - we need to go and play

"It is a massive game against Bolton. The disappointing thing from my point of view is that we have lost our last two home games, and they were derby games as well.

"We didn't play badly in them and felt we deserved something. But it is no good feeling sorry for ourselves - we have to make things happen.

"I am hoping we can win three points to lift us up the table."

Goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen, who has been one of Sunderland's most consistent performers this season, emphasised the importance of tonight's clash.

He said: "It would be a disaster if we lost. We have two difficult away games at Chelsea and Arsenal in the next three coming up and it is a crucial time to produce a good performance."

The Danish international does not believe there is any benefit to be had in ignoring the dangers of being sucked into a relegation battle.

He said: "We have to be realistic. We are down there now and we have to do whatever we can to stay out of the relegation zone.

"If we beat Bolton it will be an important step towards safety. Hopefully we can reach safety and then start building for next season."

Sorensen believes that Sunderland must get more consistency in their play.

"I hope that for once we can play well for the whole game. We seem to drift in and out of games. A consistent performance through a whole game would be nice and that's what we must aim for.

"It will be tough against Bolton - they will be happy with a draw and will be hoping to catch us on the break. But if we can get the first goal I think we can go on and win."

Reid must wait for a late fitness check on Mboma, but if the former African Player of the Year is ruled out Republic of Ireland international Niall Quinn will resume his partnership with Phillips, who will be looking to break a sequence of three games without a goal.

Sunderland (from): Sorensen, Haas, Craddock, Williams, McCartney, Gray, McAteer, Schwarz, Kilbane, Mboma, Phillips, Quinn, Butler, Varga, Bellion, Kyle, Macho.

Read more about Sunderland AFC here.