Bolton Wanderers will return to Championship action on Saturday against Middlesbrough still searching for their first league win of the campaign.

Phil Parkinson’s side secured promotion from League One last season in second place behind runaway winners Sheffield United, but they haven’t fared anywhere near as well as Chris Wilder’s men upon return to the second tier.

The Trotters have picked up just two points from their opening five games, drawing away at Millwall and Birmingham City, although they were beaten by Leeds United, Derby County, and more recently Hull City to leave them bottom of the division.

And they head into Saturday’s clash against Middlesbrough with the prospect of being without influential duo Will Buckley and Jem Karacan due to injury.

Thus, it’s fair to say that it’s testing times at the Macron Stadium, but the two-week international break has come a good time for the club to take stock and work out exactly what they need to do over the coming weeks and months, starting against Middlesbrough on Saturday.

Thus, there is no need to panic just yet, what with there still being 41 games of the campaign remaining, and they should look at the upcoming Middlesbrough clash as an opportunity given the North East's side sluggish start to the campaign.

Garry Monk’s men have yet to fully hit their stride and have managed just four goals in their first five games, despite the mega millions spent on their front line, and that will surely give Parkinson and the Bolton squad confidence ahead of Saturday’s clash.

If they can defend like they did for much of last season, remain organised throughout, and press from the front, they will give themselves a chance.

More importantly though, there is genuine quality in the Trotters squad. Adam le Fondre and Adam Armstrong are both deadly goal-scorers who only need half a chance to bag a goal, while experienced pros such as Darren Pratley and David Wheater have played and succeeded at his level before - Craig Noone has also made the move to Bolton in what could turn out to be a very shrewd addition.

Admittedly, they are lacking some quality in certain areas of the pitch, and this season was always likely to be a struggle for them, but they haven’t had the easiest of starts to the campaign, and could probably do with a bit of luck to get them that first win to kickstart the season.

Nonetheless, there is no need to panic just yet.