Bolton manager Gary Megson admitted his side are all but safe after they beat Sunderland 2-0 to virtually guarantee the club's Barclays Premier League status.

Departing crowd favourite El-Hadji Diouf netted a superb 42nd-minute opener and Black Cats substitute Daryl Murphy headed into his own net in the closing stages to seal the result.

It was Bolton's third win in their last four matches and moved the club three points clear of the relegation zone with a vastly superior goal difference compared to third-bottom Reading.

"The players knew they needed to perform because we're going to Chelsea next week," said Megson. "It's four years since they lost at home isn't it?

"So we knew when we kicked off that if we could get a result it would put an awful amount of onus on the other teams, but we still had to get the actual win.

"Now we are three points above the relegation zone and in a great position to stay up."