OWEN COYLE was delighted with Wanderers' comprehensive victory over neighbours Wigan Athletic but said that there is still a lot of hard work ahead.

Johan Elmander, Kevin Davies, Fabrice Muamba and substitute Matt Taylor got their names on the scoresheet as Wanderers maintained their fourth successive league shutout at the Reebok Stadium.

The manager said: "There were some terrific performances but the biggest single thing for me was the three points. They were so valuable to us given our position in the league. The short term aim is to keep us in the Premier League and days like these certainly help."

Coyle paid particular praise to Elmander and Muamba, the latter of whom netted his first goal for the club.

He added: "Johan and Fabrice have both been outstanding for me from Day One: their effort, their energy and their desire. As manager, I have belief in them and that is why they are playing week in, week out. I am so pleased for Johan who has worked so hard. You ask any of his team mates how valuable he is to the team. Fabrice is a young English player and I believe he has the scope to develop into a truly fantastic player."

The manager kept a sense of perspective on the result which put his side eight points clear of the drop zone.

"We are certainly not safe yet, that's for sure. We've got a great result today but we've still got some points to pick up to make sure that we are a Premier League club next year. We've got a tough period of games coming up so we are going to have to be at our best but we are capable of picking up points in those games.

"The supporters were absolutely fantastic as they have been since I came here. I would urge them to keep on coming and bring their pals because they have a big role to play. You can see how much their support meant to the players today and always."