Gary Megson paid the price for fielding an under-strength side as Bolton followed Everton and Spurs out of this season's UEFA Cup at the last-16 stage after a 1-0 defeat by Sporting Lisbon.

The Portuguese outfit were an unremarkable team, and it will be a major surprise if they go on to win the competition in May.

But against a Bolton side shorn of several stars - with Premier League survival the focus - Sporting clinched their quarter-final place via Bruno Pereirinha's 85th-minute strike to give them a 2-1 win aggregate victory.

With so many key players left at home, it was left to the Whites' second string to fly the flag and bid for a last-eight place.

There was no Kevin Nolan, Jussi Jaaskelainen, Kevin Davies, Matt Taylor, El Hadji Diouf, Andy O'Brien, Ricardo Gardner, Ivan Campo or Gavin McCann for this clash at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.

With the Trotters back in the bottom three in the Premier League, Megson's focus is firmly on Sunday's clash with relegation rivals Wigan at the JJB.

Gary Cahill, who captained the side, told five: "We need to get over it as soon as possible.

"A lot of players were rested for the game and Sunday is a massive game for us. Every game we play is vital at this stage.

"It hurts a lot to go out. Every time we play we go out to win. We knew it would be difficult and they would have a lot of the ball but we are bitterly disappointed to go out."

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