Davies hopes for Muamba lift against Spurs

Bolton captain Kevin Davies hopes Fabrice Muamba can boost his side's survival bid by attending Wednesday's home game against Tottenham. Muamba is making a miraculous recovery from the cardiac arrest he suffered in the abandoned FA Cup tie at Tottenham last month and Davies, who scored twice to earn a valuable 2-2 draw at Sunderland on Saturday, hinted the midfielder could be about to make his first appearance at a match since his horrific collapse. Davies believes the sight of Muamba watching from the stands would provide a major boost to both his team-mates and Bolton's fans as Wanderers try to climb out of the Premier League relegation zone. "There's talk he could be coming. It would give us a huge lift," Davies said. While Muamba's presence would be a lift, Bolton manager Owen Coyle believes his team must follow the example of Davies to preserve their 11-year Premier League status. Coyle, whose side remain in the bottom three, revealed the 35-year-old striker has played through the pain barrier in Bolton's battle against relegation. After Davies scored a stunning opener, Nicklas Bendtner and James McClean turned the Stadium of Light game on its head. But Davies salvaged a point, nodding in 20 minutes from time. Coyle said: "Kevin has always been a wonderful player and he's a terrific leader. He has a huge role to play between now and the end of the season. "He's so committed to the club there was a period in the season where he was trying to play with little knocks and I had to tell him to come out of the side to get himself fresh. "He's come roaring back in the last couple of months, showing the form that had him in the England team last year and that's what we're going to need in the last three games. "He's so conscientious he's annoyed with himself that he gave the free-kick away that led to Sunderland going 2-1 in front. "That's the type of leader you need in the situation we're in." Although Bolton remain in danger, two of their relegation rivals, QPR and Blackburn, face tough visits to Chelsea and Tottenham respectively on Sunday, while Coyle's men have a game in hand on all their fellow strugglers once the weekend fixtures are completed. After facing Spurs, they host West Bromwich Albion next weekend before travelling to Stoke on the final day of the season and Coyle believes they have enough quality to stay up. "We've taken four points from two tough away games at Aston Villa and Sunderland and we have to use that as a platform," he said. "If we can replicate that in our three remaining games, I truly believe that will be enough to keep us in the Premier League. "It's in our own hands and I'm very confident we can do it. "We were probably worthy of three points here. We went ahead with a wonderful goal and my disappointment is we've given away cheap possession which led to Sunderland's equaliser. "Given our exertions at Aston Villa the other night, it would have been easy to feel sorry for ourselves, but this group of players aren't like that and we scored a wonderful equaliser." Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill, who saw his side extend their winless run to seven games, added: "We're concerned about not winning and this one is a case in point. But I'm not sure we're a top-eight team. "I said a couple of weeks ago that we have work to do. "But I'm disappointed that, having got ourselves in front, we didn't go on to win the game."