Manchester United are the next opponents for Gary Megson's Bolton Wanderers when they make the short trip from Old Trafford at the weekend.
The Wanderers boss spoke to media on Thursday morning to offer his thoughts and opinions on what is set to be an exciting afternoon at the Reebok this coming Saturday.
Gary, the big games keep coming and it doesn't get much tougher than Manchester United.
They are all big challenges and at the moment we are finding ourselves in a period where we are playing all the top teams at once. It's proving difficult in terms of injuries and suspensions so it's going to be a big test for the club.
You have got one player back available for selection with Gretar Steinsson returning from suspension.
It will be nice to have Gretar back but to be perfectly honest, we chucked young Chris Basham in at the Emirates and it was a great surprise for us. We weren't sure how he was going to do, but we took our eye off him, let him play and there were no worries at all.
The squad was looking a little stretched last Saturday at Arsenal, how does it compare this week?
It's not much different but it is a little bit better. Obviously we lost Gavin McCann last week with a broken toe and Johan Elmander will be out for a couple of weeks as well.
We are down to the bare bones but we've always known that. I've spoken to the staff and asked them to write down what their strongest team would be and we are all more or less of the same opinion. From that strongest team then we are only about three players down.
I've think we've got a decent Premier League team, but what we have got to improve on is getting a better Premier League squad.
There's never an easy time to play Manchester United, but it's a game that all the Bolton Wanderers fans will be looking forward to, particularly with the great result last season.
It was a good game for us last year. Looking at one angle it was obviously a fantastic result for us, but from the other it stuck in the throat a little because if we played like we did on that day all the time then we would be in the top-six and not the bottom-six.
Last time at the Reebok against Wigan we didn't have our usual verve and I was disappointed that we lost the game. But when Manchester United come to town, the atmosphere and the enthusiasm that the players show takes care of itself.
That must make life more difficult for Sir Alex's people than most other teams, but that only comes because we are playing against world class players and arguably the biggest club in the world.
Do the players look forward to testing themselves against a team like Manchester United?
I think so. When supporters look at the fixtures and see who the first game is against, they will probably look to see when we play Manchester United because they are the glamour club in the country and one of the best in the world.
Every person wants to see them play and every player wants to play against them, but more importantly be a player that's in a team that beats them.
The bookmakers have made them favourites to win the Barclays Premier League again this season. Would you agree with that?
They aren't usually far off but it's a bit early to say that they are going to win it because they have got some really difficult games to play.
The business end of the season starts now and I saw them play against Wigan last night and the game could have easily gone the other way. But that will stand Manchester United in good stead, the fact that they were not at their best but could still win 1-0.
And finally, can you bring us up to date with any transfer news, particularly with Jimmy Bullard and the rumours surrounding him?
I spoke to Alistair Mackintosh, the Chief Executive at Fulham, last week and I left a message with Roy Hodgson saying that I had done so. We had quite a long conversation and so I got it from the horse's mouth about what the position was. I just mentioned a figure to him, he said that it wouldn't be acceptable and so we move on.
We've spoken on three or four occasions to different football clubs about their players. What makes a deal happen in the main in January is the money and last season when we got to January I felt at the time that we overspent on all three of the players that we brought in.
It's only after the event that you turn around and say that they weren't bed deals. Cahill at £5m is looking like a decent buy, as is Matty Taylor and Gretar Steinsson at just over £3m.
So to get the players then you do have to pay over the odds and we're not the club that has got that kind of money. We will do a deal if we can find the right players, but you will find in January that anybody who is worth £2m that their club wants £5m and anybody who is worth £5m then they want £10m.
An example last year was with Johan Elmander when we enquired to Toulouse and we were quoted £30m and then we paid them £8.2m in the summer.
