3 May 2008, he made his return from a broken hand to help Bolton retain their Premier League status. Over the summer of 2008, Hull City tried to sign Kevin Davies from Bolton, but the club turned down their offer. Davies then signed a new contract with Bolton would keep him at the club until 2011. On 31 January 2009, Davies became captain of Bolton following the sale of Kevin Nolan to Newcastle United. The same day, Davies' first match as captain saw him score two goals in Bolton's 3–2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur as well as equalling his record for goals in a Premier League season. In the following match, at home against West Ham, he scored his 50th goal for Bolton, and his 10th of the season. In August 2009, Davies stated that he would like to stay at Bolton for the rest of his career. On 13 March 2010, Davies scored the first penalty of his career, netting the second from the spot in a 4–0 home win over Wigan. Davies set a Premier League records for the most fouls in a season in 2009–10, committing 120 such offences. In the 2010–11 season he went on to break his own record with 121 fouls. Davies was relegated with Bolton at the end of the 2011–12 season, but shortly after, he signed a new one-year deal with the club and assured the fans he would stay to get Bolton back to the Premier League. He made his 400th appearance for the club at Watford on 2 February 2013. On 26 March 2013, Bolton announced that they would not be offering Davies a new contract, which would make that season his final for the club. Following this announcement, Davies played no further matches that season, being initially dropped to the bench before eventually being left out of match day squads completely, with reserve-team strikers being preferred instead. Preston North End On 10 July 2013, Davies signed a two-year contract with League One club Preston North End. He made his league debut for Preston on 3 August in a 0–0 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers, and drew praise from his manager for his performance. His first goal for Preston was a penalty in a 2–1 win over Oldham Athletic on 9 September 2013. He went on to score the only goal in a 1–0 win over Wycombe Wanderers in the FA