Bolton Wanderers defender Gary Cahill admits he was sorry to see Gary Megson sacked last week.

Cahill, 24, owes a lot to former boss Megson, who bought him from Aston Villa for £5million in January 2008.

The defender acknowledged his debt to Megson, saying: "If you look at where I have come from when I first joined the club, I am probably the fifth-choice centre back for England with years in front of me. So I appreciate everything he has done for me. I am definitely a better player than when I first came here.

"It is never nice when people get the sack. I suppose it depends if you were in favour of that manager but I played a lot under him and he took a chance and paid a lot of money for me at that stage of my career. I would like to think I have repaid him in a way but I am grateful for what he has done for me."