Bolton Wanderers have endured a disappointing start to their quest for an instant return to the Premier League.

Owen Coyle was relieved of his duties in October after Wanderers had won just three of his opening 10 matches. Dougie Freedman was persuaded to leave table-topping Crystal Palace to take up the reins at the Reebok, but the transition has not been a smooth one.

An inconsistent run of form has left Bolton stuck in the bottom half of the table, with time running out to mount a promotion push.

Here, Sports Mole take a look at a tough time in the second tier for the Trotters.

August

Bolton began the season at Coyle's former club Burnley, and it was not a return to remember. The visitors fell to a 2-0 defeat at Turf Moor, but bounced back to claim four points from their next two matches.

Kevin Davies and Chris Eagles secured a 2-0 success over Derby County, before an entertaining 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest three days later.

Wanderers League Cup campaign came to a swift end as Bolton were beaten in the first round by Crawley Town.

September

A mixed bag of results saw Bolton confined to mid-table in September, with two wins being overshadowed by three defeats.

Things got off to a poor start as an early lead slipped away at Hull City, but Bolton bounced back quickly with a 2-1 home win over Watford.

The inconsistent run continued at St Andrew's as Birmingham City rendered a Chris Eagles strike redundant with a 2-1 success.

Wanderers got their first away result of the campaign at Sheffield Wednesday thanks to a superb solo effort from Mark Davies.

Crystal Palace condemned Coyle to a third defeat of the month with a narrow victory at the Reebok.

October

A busy October for Wanderers began with a 2-2 draw at Leeds United, before a late defeat to Millwall sealed Coyle's fate.

Jimmy Phillips took caretaker charge and helped Bolton earn three precious points against Bristol City. Martin Petrov got the winner as Wanderers came from two-goals down to win 3-2.

Freedman was given the job two days later and began by earning a point away at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

A brace from Scott McDonald kept Bolton's away-day blues continued at the Riverside, with Middlesbrough claiming a 2-1 win.

November

Bolton enjoyed an unbeaten November, sandwiching wins either side of a bizarre run of three successive draws.

David N'Gog scored a winner against Cardiff City before being sent off in Bolton's best performance of the season so far.

Wanderers' next two matches saw Freedman's men concede late equalisers to Blackpool and Barnsley, before exacting revenge with a stoppage-time leveller of their own at Brighton.

A positive run of results was improved at Blackburn Rovers with impressive 2-1 away win.

December

Bolton's six-match unbeaten run came to an end at Ipswich Town as the home side recovered from a Mark Davies opener to claim a late win, courtesy of a Michael Chopra strike.

Wanderers' tendency to concede late goals continued a week later at Huddersfield Town, with James Vaughan making the match 2-2 with two minutes to play.

N'gog bagged a brace at the Reebok to earn the home side a 2-0 success against Charlton Athletic.

A remarkable 5-4 defeat at Peterborough United followed, with Bolton scoring twice in the closing stages before falling just short of scoring a dramatic equaliser.

An inconsistent start to life under Freedman continued on Boxing Day as Sheffield Wednesday made it three wins in a row at the Reebok.