CITY skipper Sylvain Distin reckons Bolton Wanderers owe the Blues a debt of gratitude ahead of tomorrow's clash at the Reebok.

The French defender believes that is was the 6-2 thrashing handed out to Sam Allardyce's men at Eastlands that turned Wanderers' season around.

Now Distin and company are hoping that a repeat of that game back in October, one of only two home Premiership wins all season for Kevin Keegan's side, will do the same for them.

"That was one of our better performances of the season, and if we can reach that level again tomorrow then it might start us off on a run of success," ventured Distin, on the scoresheet in that eight-goal thriller.

"Bolton have not done much wrong since that game and have done really well to reach the final of the Carling Cup, while we have struggled, but there is still time to turn things around."

If City are to win a first match in the league since the 2-0 November 1 triumph at Southampton, then Distin admits they will first have to subdue the skills of his former teammate Jay-Jay Okocha.

"He is one of the key players for Bolton, there is no doubt about that," said Distin. "I played at Paris St Germain for a year with him when he was in a midfield alongside Ali Benarbia, so you can imagine how creative that was.

"Jay-Jay is a great player and one of the most talented ball players in the Premiership. He could get a place in most sides. The problem with Jay-Jay is you never know what he is going to do with the ball, whether you are playing against him or on his side!

Tricks

"Some players are predictable but he is not. Even training with him every day doesn't always help, because just when you think you have worked out what he may do he will come up with some new trick. He is one of the leaders in Bolton's side, and if we can keep him quiet it will make Bolton play differently."

Distin admits that maintaining mental strength and belief will be one of the keys to City's survival battle, and the other will be to make sure they don't fall into the bottom three at any stage.

"Once you are in there (the bottom three) it always seems harder to get out, and psychologically it is a bad thing," he admitted. "We are not in that position and we don't want to be.

"We are still working hard, but after three months without a league win we feel we need to have a bit of luck here or there to break the sequence. We know this club's future is up to us and no-one else, and we don't want to let the fans down.

"Their faith in us has been amazing, and at Old Trafford last week they were as supportive as ever. I hope that continues because we need them on our side. It is very important.

Positive

"We can take positives from the fact that we beat Bolton earlier in the season, and there were some good points, too, in the match with United. We have to keep believing that we have the quality to win games.

"The mentality is still there but there is no doubt that players start asking questions of themselves when they are in a situation like this. Sometimes they ask too many questions instead of relaxing and playing their normal game. That is no good."

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