Bolton threatened early in the second half when Luca Cornell swung the ball into the area and Clayton Donaldson directed his header on target, but Dean Henderson was able to make a comfortable save at his near post.

The breakthrough came in the 56th minute when Sharp did well down the right, advancing into the area before squaring to McGoldrick, who turned the ball into the net.

Sharp added a second goal in the 73rd minute, scoring with a header after meeting Ollie Norwood's pinpoint free-kick.

Sharp has now scored eight goals in his last eight starts while his total for the season stands at 20.

When substitute Josh Magennis threatened to find a way through in a rare Bolton attack, Henderson reacted swiftly to snuff out the danger.

Wilder said: "They were dogged opponents with professional pride at stake and we had to work hard.

"It was a really slow game in the first half and I suppose they would have been delighted with that.

"We played a little too slow and a little too safe for my liking in the first half.

"We just needed to speed things up in the second half, which we did.

"It's a little gentle reminder that we can't try and coast in games. We've got to go full tilt and see if we can blow the opposition away early on.

"Every game has got to be won and taken on its merits. You've got to get the job done – we know that.

"Once we got going and got into a pattern, we played some decent stuff.

"It looks a pretty comfortable result but, particularly in the first 45 minutes, it wasn't for us."

Bolton assistant manager Steve Parkin felt his side were well in the game during the first half.

He said: "I think we were pretty comfortable in the first half and had some more than reasonable possession.

"It was important that we didn't let United dominate for long spells.

"There was nothing in the game really and we were happy with our first-half performance.

"Goals change games and Billy (Sharp) was half a yard offside when he was played in so the goal shouldn't have stood. It was poor defending for the second goal.

"We just have to keep working with the players. They're a good set of lads who're giving everything they've got.

"Everybody wrote us off last season and I'm sure they're writing us off this year. We've got to prove everybody wrong like we did last year.

"It's a tough league but we have the experience to come through it.

"Nobody likes losing every week so we've got to make sure we pick them up and get them ready for the next game.

"It's key that we don't let teams get too far away from us."

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