91Èȱ¬

Former Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba is "devastated" at Owen Coyle's sacking and says his replacement must secure promotion.

Coyle was dismissed on Tuesday after a poor start to their Championship campaign following relegation.

Muamba announced his retirement from playing in August after suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch in March.

"I was obviously devastated but I am sure the club will bring someone in to get promoted," said Muamba.

"We need to get promoted.

"It was very disappointing the club letting Owen go, but you have to look at the bigger picture."

In an interview with 91Èȱ¬ Sport at the Leaders in Football conference at Stamford Bridge, Muamba added that he hoped Coyle would bounce back quickly from his sacking.

Bolton and Coyle were widely praised for the support they gave Muamba after the former Arsenal player suffered a cardiac arrest during Bolton's FA Cup quarter-final tie with Tottenham Hotspur on 17 March.

"I wish nothing but good luck to Owen because he was nice to me when I was there, and also my time in hospital," added Muamba.

"I can understand exactly where the club came from, but at the end of the day he did a great job for the club and I am grateful to him."

"If you look at the start of the season, the guys have not been playing particularly well and the results have not been up to the standards we thought with the players we've got in the team.

"In football you make changes and sometimes that's good, sometimes it's bad. We just have to wait and see how the club react."

Former Wolves manager Mick McCarthy is among the front-runners to replace Coyle. Roy Keane, who guided Sunderland to promotion into the Premier League, is also regarded as a possible candidate.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the former Manchester United forward, has also been linked with the vacany.

"I just want someone who can come in and shake them up, make sure everybody is back to normality and get the boys back to where we want to be playing," said Muamba.

Coyle, who chatted with Muamba just three days after his collapse, paid tribute to the former England Under-21 captain when he announced his retirement.

"We have spoken with Fab and he knows we will always support him in whatever he wants to do and that we will always be here for him," said Coyle in August.

"He is obviously massively disappointed that he won't be able to carry on his career, but everyone has seen what a fighter and strong person he is in mind and body.

"We know that he will go on to achieve great things and within all this disappointment, the most important thing is that he is here, alive, today."

Bolton are 18th in the Championship table after three wins in 10 games.