Coyle: We wanted Stoke in semis

Wanderers will take on the Potters at Wembley on the weekend of April 16-17 having avoided both Manchester United and City when the names were pulled out of the hat. Asked what his reaction had been to being paired with Stoke, Coyle said: "As it would be with any other team - 'what a tough game.' "But I think Stoke would have thought 'I hope we get Bolton' and I don't think there is anything wrong with that. "If you had a choice, with Manchester United and Manchester City there and given the size of the clubs, probably both Bolton and Stoke would have wanted to play each other. "All I would say is that when it comes about, you will have two teams that are very positive in their outlook in terms of trying to win the game and I think it will be a fitting semi-final." Bolton secured their passage into the last four with Saturday's 3-2 quarter-final victory at Birmingham. Amongst the scorers for Wanderers was Johan Elmander, who netted for the first time since early January - his 11th goal of the campaign. Rumours continue to persist that the Sweden striker will join another club when his contract runs out in the summer, with Fiorentina and Juventus the latest to be linked, but Coyle insists nobody has contacted him about Elmander. "I don't deal in rumour and there will be a million rumours out there," Coyle said. "I deal in fact and the fact is that there has never, ever been one genuine enquiry for Johan. "If the summer comes about and there is something out there for Johan and his family that he thinks is the right thing for him, then good luck to him. "I would love him to stay - I enjoy working with him and he enjoys working with me. "Come the summer, that is when that decision will be made, so conjecture and rumour-mongering I'll leave to the people who enjoy that sort of thing."