Dougie Freedman: Bolton manager will not walk away after poor start

Manager Dougie Freedman says he will not quit Bolton and is determined to end their terrible start to the season.

Wanderers, who were beaten 3-1 at Brighton on Saturday, are bottom of the Championship and without a win from their first eight league matches.

But the 39-year-old has insisted he will not walk away from the challenge.

"When you're in a professional game and you've worked at a professional level, you don't have that inside you. It's not inside me," said Freedman.

The former Crystal Palace boss and masterminded a turnaround that saw Wanderers climb from 20th position in February to the brink of the play-offs.

Failure to secure a top-six spot on the final day of last season, followed by a poor start to the 2013-14 campaign, has left Freedman's position at the Reebok Stadium under scrutiny.

He told BBC Radio Manchester: "We turned a lot around last season when we gathered some momentum. We are slipping over in certain matches but we're certainly not falling down."

Bolton host third-bottom Yeovil on Saturday, with Freedman declaring it is a game from which his side must emerge victorious.

"It is a big match and simply a match we've got to win," added the Scot. "The good thing about is that these players can win football matches if they're focused and concentrated for 95 minutes rather than 80 minutes."