Bolton Wanderers boss Gary Megson admits the international break couldn't have come at a worse time.

Keen to exorcise the Villa Park demons, Bolton now have to wait 12 days before they play again - against derby rivals Blackburn at the Reebok - with Megson admitting he would rather be back in action much sooner.

"We'd prefer to be playing Tuesday and Wednesday, but we're not and we have to cope with that," he told the Bolton News.

"None of our 10 outfield players got anywhere near the standards they have set themselves and nowhere near the standards you'd expect in the Premier League. The defending was not acceptable and not good enough.

"It's something we've got to address and if we can't sort it out with what we've already got then we need to change things a bit. It's not just about technique - that's part of it - but there's also desire.

"But the players we've got here can play better than that.

"We need to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and make sure when we turn up for the derby against Blackburn we give ourselves the opportunity to get the result we want."