Football: Allardyce learns to live with match day nightmare; ARSENAL v BOLTON 12. 45pm.

SAM ALLARDYCE is refusing to get carried away by Bolton's bright start to the season, which has seen the oldest squad in the Premiership arrive in Champions League territory.

You would think Allardyce is savouring every moment with Europe already being talked about in some circles. But in fact the opposite is true.

The old-fashioned centre- half turned -modern-manager admits to having a dark side, no matter which club his team faces, whether it is Arsenal today or Yeovil in the Carling Cup on Tuesday.

Giving a insight into his minds et ahead of the Highbury showdown, he said: ``Other managers might not worry as much as me.

``I am a pessimist, I was a defender after all. You are always thinking the worst is going to happen.

``You are 1-0 up with two minutes to go and you think, `oh no I am going to slip on my backside and it is going to cost the team the points. The manager is going to shout at me'.

``That fear gets you not making that mistake. ''

Matchdays can be a nightmare for Allardyce.

``I wake on a Saturday morning and the last thing I want to hear is the phone ringing.

I always think someone has gone down and I will have to change something.

``I have learned to live with it as time goes by and cope with it better. ''

No side has been more consistent in the Premiership than Arsenal, who stretched their unbeaten league run to 45 games last weekend by defeating Fulham.

Allardyce hopes some lethargy might have crept in following the narrow victory in the Champions League against PSV Eindhoven in midweek.

``This is the ultimate challenge against a team that looks as though they are never going to get beaten, '' he said. ``It is an unbelievable record but one we cannot be too scared of. We have to believe that sooner or later they will slip up.

``The pressure is not on us. They are top, we are third but we are a million miles apart.

The best way to get at Arsenal is for their team to have an off day and for six or seven not to play as well as they can. You have to try to force Arsenal into a mistake and capitalise on it. ''

Allardyce is looking for a strong performance from referee Phil Dowd after a series of controversial incidents involv-ing his team in north London. ``We have always done well there but have always been hindered by the referee, '' said the Bolton manager. ``Far too many times we've had things go against us.

``When you get that going against you at Arsenal, it is near impossible to get anything out of the game. You want an even field to play on and we have not had that.

``No referee does this on purpose. But because they are human beings they get affected by the size of the game, the size of the team. That affects them in what we consider decisions against us. ''

Wenger accused Allardyce of getting up to some ``old tricks'' with his comments this week about referees.

Those comments follow Allardyce's remarks two seasons ago on the eve of the match at the Reebok when Bolton came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 and help cost Arsenal the title.

On that occasion Allardyce said: ``Don't Arsenal always intimidate referees? And haven't they also got the worst disciplinary record in the country? I think they are the worst in the country at intimidating officials. I don't know how they get away it. ''

Wenger hit back and said: ``It is very unfair to come out with any statement about referees before a game and you never see me doing that. Managers have a responsibility not to put referees under pressure before a game. That is an old trick and I find it unfair, you should let referees get on with the job. ''

CAPTION(S):

Arsene Wenger and Sam Allardyce will have conflicting views again