Bolton Wanderers: Diouf

The Senegal striker, on loan from Liverpool, set up the opening goal for Stelios Giannakopoulos at Southampton before missing a clear chance himself.

It proved to be a costly miss as Kevin Phillips pounced to give Saints a point and take them out of the relegation zone.

Diouf's career has been littered with controversy and he has served two three-match suspensions this season. However the African has won over the supporters and perhaps more importantly manager Sam Allardyce with his willingness to be a team player.

Gartside said: "We would like him to stay, and I think he would like to stay.

"It's a question of being able to sit down with Liverpool in the next two to three weeks and negotiating something that is beneficial to both of us.

"He has made the season a bit more exciting than perhaps we had expected.

"He is a hell of a lad off the field and we believe he can make a massive contribution to what we do if we can just tame his antics a little bit."

Gartside claims there is no way they will be held to ransom over Diouf.

"We have been doing it (paying big wages) for some time," he told Sky Sports News. "But it doesn't mean we can pay big transfer fees.

"We can afford to pay a reasonable wage for people who can perform at that level and Sam's proved he can find those players to come and do a job for him."