Sam Allardyce insists he'll be heartbroken if Bolton Wanderers fail to beat the drop.

He said: "Of course I care about what happens to them.

"I spent nearly eight years building that club up and added to the times I was there as a player, I've been associated with Bolton for 18 years. I don't want to see everything go to waste but they know they should not be in this position. It will be great if they survive but that's not achievement. They should have been much higher up the table.

"Perhaps they will learn lessons from what's gone on."

However the season ends, Allardyce - out of work since being axed in January by Newcastle - does not see himself ever going back again.

He and Bolton chairman Phil Gartside fell out spectacularly and the wounds have not healed. He revealed: "I'm living back in the town and fans come up to me all the time telling me how it's all gone wrong. They ask if I'm going back but I always say 'No'. It was a great time but it's finished."