Unlike the functioning public transport system that this nation singularly lacks, we were again in position in time for yet another home win to come round the corner, right on schedule as expected. Room on top, mind the gap, hold on tight and off we go.

Mucho satisfacto then, as they say in Winlaton.

However, behind the pleasing scoreline and consequent maximum point return lurks a story of footballing cliche par excellence - the original game of two halves. 

A neutral would probably have called it a fair draw, but thankfully we're all thoroughly committed here - or should be, in some cases....

Say what you like about Sam Allardyce, he's definitely got something about him. And that's not just having dodgy top lip adornment, being a member of the ex-mackems club or looking like Morrissey when he wanders round with his earpiece in (or Johnny Ray for our older readers.) He seems to know a bit about football.

Seeing his team over run in the opening moments in the manner of Russian peasants storming the gates of the Winter Palace, he was wise enough to regroup and try to stem the black and white tide. And when his troops looked like using their shirts for surrender flags, his half time words roused them to greater efforts and threaten to embarrass United.

We weren't out of the blocks quickly in this game, we were halfway round the second bend when the gun / whistle went off, scampering hither and thither. The relaid pitch had a layer of moisture on it and this certainly seemed to aid our rapid interplay as we took up where we left off on Saturday, only at an even more frantic pace.

True, we didn't score in the blinking of an eye, but Dyer had tested the keeper by the time thirty seconds had elapsed. With Shearer almost bypassed by what was a thoroughly engrossing exhibition of passing and movement, it was no surprise when Jenas nipped in to place the ball in the net after one of a series of eye-catching moves - if this was New Faces we'd have been getting extra points for artistic interpretation.

It was easy to forget that Bolton were even playing for much of the first half as Solano, Dyer, Jenas and Bellamy wove patterns across the field, augmented by Bernard and Hughes. Robert got in on the act as well, with a wickedly curling in-swinger of a corner that threatened to find the far side of Jaaskelainen's goal.

Further goals seemed inevitable, but they didn't come. Again though we kept a clean sheet, partly by good fortune and partly by good play. 

We seemed to start to feel the strain all over the field after the break - Dyer especially apparently having run himself into the ground in the opening 45 minutes, and Bernard dangerously erratic at times in the second half.

Bolton's ploy of introducing Campo to the midfield certainly stopped us in our tracks, as a player who had frequently looked awful on "The Premiership" when used as a defender suddenly started to threaten as he took a grip of the game. He still found time to be shown a yellow card though. 

We stopped having acres of space to press on to the Bolton backline, and more worryingly they showed enough nerve to start spraying balls out wide to runners, trying to exploit the fact we looked increasingly narrow in defence (Hughes at times seemed to think he was playing as part of a central trio, and when Solano stopped tracking back we consequently came under pressure.)

Caldwell almost put through his own goal with a header that wasn't as bullet-like as the Dabizas effort against Spurs, and when Given dived to beat it away, Mendy contrived to miss from six yards.

A let-off then, and although Shearer did strike the crossbar with a header it was Bolton who looked the more likely to score the next goal. Thankfully it never came and we bucked up towards the finish, Laurent Robert coming close with an attempt to emulate the clever free kick that he scored with at Derby last season.

And once we won a corner down by the Gallowgate and Shearer took up position for his party piece of running the clock down, the referee deemed that enough was enough and one of the biggest threats to our home run had been dealt with successfully. 

Wanderers certainly seemed to show more spirit and readiness for the relegation fight than either the mackems or West Ham, and their away record matches ours in terms of the nine points we've each gathered. 

Unlike us though, they cannot hang on to a lead, turn losses into draws or single points into maximum returns. Their home form also threatens to drag them down, as they cannot get into gear - beating us to great acclaim then draw with Fulham the next time out. If Bolton do drop down, maybe someone with a few quid will tempt their manager away. One can only have the stomach for a certain number of promotion dogfights....

By contrast we kept our winning home run going, on this occasion largely by dint of blowing the opposition away from the outset and hanging on grimly as the finishing line came into view. 

This was never going to be an easy game, as anyone who went to the Reebok on Boxing Day would willingly have testified. And as for scoring a bagful, we do threaten to do so at times (like Saturday) but have never managed more than two goals per game in this wonderful home run. But we've scored enough to win 'em all. That's the important thing.

And to keep consecutive clean sheets with Dabizas in the team is a miracle not far short of turning water into wine. But we've done it. 

A great three points then to press home our much-mentioned "game in hand" advantage and cement our 3rd place spot, now four points ahead of Chelsea in 4th and a full six in front of 5th placed Everton.