Kevin Davies has maintained that Wanderers can still finish in the top-half of the Barclays Premier League following their spirited display at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.

The captain was mightily encouraged with the never-say-die attitude at Chelsea after Bolton fought back from being four goals down to almost salvage a point against the Champions League quarter-finalists.

Indeed, even with Wanderers amazing late recovery in the final twenty minutes, Davies was disappointed that his team returned to the North West with nothing to show for their efforts aside from the moral victory.

He explained: "We still feel that there is work to do and we are targeting that top-ten. We knew it was going to be difficult but we started the game well and created the most chances in the opening half an hour.

"We didn't manage to take any of them and obviously they got their noses in front. And then to concede straight away in the second half, you expect them to come on and at 4-0 it was a case of how many they would get.

"We made a couple of changes, Chris Basham came on, did really well and gave us a bit of energy. We got one goal back and the spirits were lifted and then at 4-3 we were a little bit disappointed that we couldn't nick a point."

Wanderers eventually succumbed to Guus Hiddink's men by the solitary goal and much of the post-match debate centred on referee Peter Walton's decision to award a dubious penalty when Gretar Steinsson was adjudged to have handled inside the penalty area.

Commenting on the harsh decision, Davies said: "There was a first time ball played around the corner and from where I'm stood, it didn't look like Gretar moved his hands at all. It was ball-to-hand from my point of view, but the referee said he moved his arm.

"I've had a quick look and it looks a bit dubious to say the least, so it's disappointing. But we gave it a go at 4-0 and we had them on the rack at the end.

"When the third goal popped in they were certainly on the back foot, but it's disappointing that we let the game get too far away because there were parts through the game when we were on top.

"We've now scored seven goals in two games and if we can take those performances, especially the last 20 minutes from Stamford Bridge, down to Portsmouth then we will go down there and get a result.

"The most impressive part of our game was the amount of chances we created against a very strong Chelsea side."

Davies also revealed his delight in witnessing substitute Chris Basham score his first goal for Bolton Wanderers, a strike which made the score 4-2 and gave the Whites real belief that taking a point from the match was a genuine possibility.

He added: "He's a young lad and this season he has come on leaps and bounds. He's young, he's got that enthusiasm and I'm happy for him that he has managed to come on and get a goal.

"He's working hard in training, doing extra work so everyone is really pleased for him."