Fowler, who is out of contract in July, has held preliminary talks with the Reds about a new deal and whilst his future is unclear at the moment, Allardyce suggests: "If he keeps on scoring for Liverpool, they will want to keep him." But he went on to say: "You'd always think about a goalscorer like him, but it would depend on the big numbers."

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez was ready for the question about Fowler's future after the man the Kop still refer to as 'God' scored the only goal of the game at Anfield with a trademark finish. "I know that it means I will be answering questions about his contract situation," said Benitez. "I want to see him scoring and playing well; if he does that it's good for everybody."

As for Fowler's strike which sentenced Bolton to their fourth successive defeat, England candidate Allardyce said: "That goal is what he is all about and shows why he has scored so many in his career. He mis-hit that shot - but it was on target and bobbled in. He makes sure that, however he connects, the ball is on target. We should have snuffed him out - he had time and space to score like that.

"That killed us off. It certainly knocked the lads back - and although they tried hard, they did not have the belief after the break to get back into it. We paid the ultimate price for creating chances and not taking them. If you want to play in Europe then you have to score when you are on top, because that gives you the drive to keep going when teams like Liverpool come back at you."