Bolton manager Owen Coyle insists his confidence in survival has not been shaken despite Tuesday's 4-0 defeat at the hands of Sunderland.
The resurgent Trotters arrived at the Stadium of Light in good form having won back-to-back Premier League games.
However, they left licking their wounds and still only five points clear of the drop zone after losing Sam Ricketts to a second-half red card.
The Black Cats got off to a flier after taking the lead just 48 seconds into the encounter through Fraizer Campbell.
Darren Bent helped himself to a hat-trick to rub salt into the wounds, but afterwards Coyle shrugged off the significance of the heavy defeat.
"We got a real foothold in the game – a really strong one – at the start of the second-half but a few things went against us and ultimately we ended up with ten men," he explained.
"So we'll lick our wounds, but what I did recognise was that our lads have worked ever so hard. That's a period of five games and four away from home.
"And while at home we managed to take advantage and push ourselves up the table.
"We are out of the bottom three but we remain in a tight battle and, as I have said, the margins remain fine.
"We've now got a massive game at the Reebok on Saturday (against Wigan) and we will look to build on our good home form."
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