After a goalless first half the game turned in the home side's favour when Bolton left-back Ricardo Gardner was given a second booking after tugging back Swansea winger Nathan Dyer.

Joe Allen gave the Welsh club a 49th-minute lead from the resulting free-kick, with a Scott Sinclair penalty doubling the lead just before the hour mark when Darren Pratley brought down Angel Rangel on his return to his former club.

A Danny Graham own-goal gave Bolton hope, but the striker redeemed himself by grabbing his fourth goal in four games at the right end in stoppage time.

Bolton had felt aggrieved when Clattenburg dismissed David Wheater in last month's loss at Arsenal and Coyle felt Gardner's two bookings had been "soft" and that Swansea players had escaped sanction for similar fouls, although he accepted that the Jamaican's pulling back of Dyer probably deserved a yellow card.

He said: "I think the second yellow card, in fairness, Ricardo Gardner has tugged Dyer back. I think we all accept that normally results in a yellow card.

"The first one I wasn't sure about in terms that it was such an innocuous foul. I think it was the first yellow card awarded in the game.

"I think there might have been a couple of challenges where the referee felt he let them go, but that was the first free-kick against him so maybe the referee thought it was persistent fouling, I don't know.

"It felt like two soft yellow cards, but that's the nature of the game now. But having said that, (Neil) Taylor in the first half clearly pulled Mark Davies back and it went unpunished. I think ultimately we want a bit of consistency in the game.

"(At the ) end of the day, it's not for me to sit here and get myself into trouble but there's enough good judges at the game who can make up their own minds as to what transpired."

The defeat, Bolton's eighth in 10 games, leaves the Trotters languishing in 19th place in the Barclays Premier League table and increases the pressure on Coyle.

But the former Burnley boss refuses to feel sorry for himself, and insists his squad can turn things around and haul themselves out of relegation trouble.

"Our job is to get on the training ground, work hard and get up and running, and get that win that kick-starts you. If you get two back to back you are flying up the league and that's what you need to do," he said.

"I know we have good players. We have about five missing which doesn't help, but the bottom line is the players we have fit and available are good enough to win games.

"Whether one or two are fragile with their confidence because of the run we have been on, they know the way through is to stand up and be counted, show your strength as a man."

Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers understandably cut a more contented figure after seeing his side extend their unbeaten home record and banish the memories of last weekend's disappointment at Molineux.

The Swans had let a 2-0 lead slip against Wolves as they were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw, and when Graham's own goal, the first they had conceded on home turf this term, brought Bolton back into the game a repeat looked possible.

But the Welsh club showed they had learned their lesson and Rodgers was delighted.

"That was a terrific performance against an established side, but the most impressive thing today was how we managed the pressure," he said.

"We spoke in the week that in every game you will have moments, no matter how comfortable you are, where you have to manage the game.

"Last week we failed to do it and drew 2-2, but this week when Danny scored the own-goal to put them to 2-1 you then saw the difference in the team.

"We opened up the spaces, passed the ball and hid the ball from the opponents for five or 10 minutes and that's something we had talked about that in the week, different ways to manage the pressure.

"Our best way to do that is to keep the ball and take the sting out of the game. We scored three and we could have had more so it is very satisfying."