Bolton 1 Newcastle 3

SAM Allardyce labelled Saturday's encounter at the Reebok as a game between two sides he had created.

The similarities, however, ended with the fact that both teams were fielding 11 players.

advertisement On the evidence of the first half hour when Newcastle took a 3-0 lead they are two sides heading in opposite directions. One towards the top six, the other towards the Championship.

A place in the top eight should be considered a great achievement in his first season in charge at Newcastle but, after starting with a relatively comfortable away win, Allardyce has no doubt given rise to greater expectations.

And just to add to the undoubted pressure every game as Magpies manager will bring, Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has tipped him to even challenge the top four.

"He's (Ferguson) a crafty old devil," said Allardyce, who was booed by home fans on his arrival at the stadium.

"He's an absolute nightmare when it comes to psyching you out.

"I've sussed him out ages ago and I'm taking no notice of him. We can talk about that if we beat Manchester United this season."

AT 3.26am on Saturday morning Sam Allardyce was probably in the land of nod dreaming of how his return to Bolton would pan out.

An early goal for his new side followed by a hard-working defensive performance. Bolton would threaten the Newcastle goal but fail to find that elusive equaliser.

A victory on his return but a resilient performance by the Trotters that augured well for life under their new manager, Sammy Lee.

Exactly twelve hours later and Bolton were 3-0 down, Allardyce was off to a dream start as Newcastle boss and his erstwhile assistant didn't know where to look.

Bolton were awful and no doubt saw their odds for relegation shorten by the minute, and Newcastle made them pay for their rank ineptness.

They did rally after the break - possibly stirred by seeing Allardyce move from director's box to dug-out, albeit the opposition's - but not even Nicolas Anelka could spoil Big Sam's day.

Nor could the home fans that booed him as he arrived at the stadium, nor even Stephen Carr, who was at fault for Anelka's goal.

Three points, top of the league, and knocking Sunderland off their early afternoon perch on goal difference - now that is worth dreaming about.

If the match up with Ferguson will be one of the club's hardest games on the pitch Saturday proved difficult off the field for Allardyce.

His former chairman and now it appears former friend, Phil Gartside, decided to take the pre-match opportunity to criticise the latter stages of his reign at the Reebok saying that Bolton fans had become bored with the side's style of play.

Sour grapes, perhaps, after Allardyce quit the Trotters in April saying he wanted a break from the game and a month later he was taking over at Newcastle.

Thirty minutes into the game, however, and Gartside must have wished he had his former manager back in charge.

Bolton were 3-0 down with all three goals preventable.

Charles N'Zogbia's curling free-kick evaded everyone and ended up in the corner of Jussi Jaaskelainen's net.

James Milner's cross somehow found its way to Obafemi Martins eight yards out. He did finish superbly with an acrobatic overhead but he should never have received the ball, and Martins' 25 yard low shot was a comfortable save for Jaaskelainen before it deflected off Abdoulaye Faye - linked with a move to the Magpies - and past the stranded keeper.

It was far from boring.

"All we did (at Bolton) was play winning football and that's what we'll play at Newcastle," was Allardyce's assessment on his style of football. "You don't play football any other way, certainly not in my mind. The pressure is to win because of the huge amounts at stake.

"Playing the right way is important - but who's to say what the right way is? It's the managers who have to get the best out of their sides."

Sammy Lee was certainly not getting the best out of his players and he realised it was a mistake not to start with El-Hadji Diouf - a player who scored three times against Newcastle last season.

His half-time introduction produced the impetus the home side lacked and within six minutes Anelka raced clear of Carr - all too easily - to bring Bolton back into it.

They failed to build on their goal and the vocal away following were able to go through their full rendition and even got the chance to see Nolberto Solano in a Newcastle shirt for the last time. The popular midfielder - originally left out of the party before an early morning call on Saturday - was a 69th minute substitute for Martins and is likely to complete a move to West Ham early this week in a deal that will also take Kieron Dyer to Upton Park.

"I got a charge out of the fans today because I gave them something to sing about," said Allardyce. "The five previous times they've been here they've gone home very miserable because they've been beaten.

"But it's only one game and lots can happen before May.

"The huge volume of support they give means there's more pressure. But if you are getting better players in and working with better players and the only way to become a great manager is by having great players. I don't care what anyone says.

"It's a bigger job because it's bigger club, bigger resources and expectations. The pressures are slightly greater because if you don't deliver the criticism comes quicker.

"The Bolton fans have perhaps been more patient than they'll be at Newcastle."

If Allardyce wants to rein in those expectations then his side shouldn't stay top of the table too long.