Bolton boss Gary Megson watched £10million man Johan Elmander rocket his side to their third away win of the season at the Riverside Stadium then insisted he must be allowed to bring in new faces to banish fears of relegation.
Megson smashed the club transfer record to bring in Elmander in the summer and was understandably delighted by the Swede's stunning late strike which wrapped up a fine 3-1 win for the visitors.
But after picking up five bookings Megson admitted the threat of suspensions could have a major impact on his small squad and insisted he would be looking to strengthen his team in January.
Megson said: "We've got probably the smallest squad that's ever been in the Premier League and we've to to improve on that in January.
"I don't feel we've got a team that will struggle but we've got a squad that will struggle and if we have to cope with a few injuries we might struggle if we don't bring players in.
"It will be a problem for us coping with suspensions. When we were without Johan and Gary (Cahill) and Matt (Taylor) at the start of the season we weren't doing particularly well."
Megson saw his side get off to a flying start against Gareth Southgate's men who looked anything but a side brimming with confidence on the back of five games without defeat.
Kevin Davies deflected home Gretar Steinsson's header in the box after eight minutes and Taylor added a second just two minutes later when he rifled home after turning Gary O'Neil in the box.
It could have been even worse for Boro with Cahill glancing a header into the arms of Ross Turnbull and the home keeper also reacting well to deny Kevin Nolan a clear run on goal.
Boro would have their chances with Kevin Nolan and Andy O'Brien among those forced to hack the ball off the line but their lack of a persistent threat up front will have worried Southgate.
Chief among the culprits was Brazilian striker Afonso Alves who has netted just three times so far this season and looked well off the pace before being withdrawn by Southgate in the second half.
But Southgate backed his £12million man to come good, insisting: "He's just got to keep working hard on the training field and do the things that have got him the goals in the past.
"I thought his head dropped a little bit and it was probably the right thing to bring him off. It's a very different league for him and a very different challenge. It's physically much tougher and Bolton are a strong, physical team."
Bolton continued to have their chances with Fabrice Muamba outstanding although Megson expressed concern at his side's failure to put the game beyond doubt.
A grandstand finish seemed likely when Boro finally scored in the 75th minute, the visitors failing to clear a corner and Stewart Downing lashing home with a left-foot effort just inside the box.
But Bolton replied with Elmander's stunning strike which gave the Swede his first goal since the opening day of the season and appeared to vindicate Megson's constant displays of faith in the player.
Megson added: "I must admit in all my time as a player and manager I've never been more pleased for someone to score. It's taken a huge amount of pressure off Johan which I felt was a bit unfair."
