Bolton Wanderers will be seeking to return to winning ways this weekend with the visit of Barnsley.
The Whites have lost their last two games on the road. These were against Cheltenham Town and Forest Green Rovers, and both saw 1-0 scorelines go against Wanderers.
Bolton are just outside the top six on goal difference as things stand heading into the weekend. They know victory over the Tykes at the University of Bolton Stadium will see them go back into the play-off places and leapfrog the Yorkshire side in the table.
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Ahead of the game, Wanderers boss Ian Evatt spoke to the press and here's a transcript of what he had to say to broadcasters.
Any unavailability ahead of Barnsley?
“Owen Toal picked up a slight thigh strain in the B team game on Tuesday. Nothing serious but enough to probably keep him out of Saturday. Everyone else is fine.”
What have you learned from the last couple of defeats?
“I don’t think it’s about putting things right, I don’t think there’s a great deal wrong to be honest. I think second half against Forest Green, we could have easily scored four or five and on another day, we would have. It was complete domination but when you’re there and you see it live and you get the chance to watch it back, there wasn’t loads wrong.
“But what I’ve learned is what I’ve known all along is that a week in football is a long time and you go from having the best start in 22 years to then people whinging and moaning saying we’re underachieving, but we’re still nearly in the top six, we’re still a very good team, we’ve still got the best defensive record in the league and we’ve got lots to be positive about, so I have no issues with where we’re at.”
Do you sense frustration amongst your players from the last couple of defeats?
“I think frustration is probably the right word. I think they feel like they’ve let themselves down and they let the support down with those two results.
“It’s important that through all of this, and I’ve said this a lot, that we have to stay grounded and we’re going to have good times and bad times and just because we won four on the trot and beat Peterborough and MK Dons, it does not mean to say we’re the world’s best team and we’re going to win every game.
“You have to remember that although Cheltenham and Forest Green are smaller clubs than us, they’re in our division and they’ve been where we’ve been in recent past, so we have to get off our high horse a little bit and swallow our pride and understand that when you’re in the same league as teams, they are going to have a chance of beating you and we are going to lose games.
"We must stay humble and grounded, we understand that the two defeats were disappointing, but we are still seventh and we’ve got that extra game in hand and if win on Saturday, it will definitely put us in the top six and that’s where we want to be.
“I don’t think there’s a lot wrong, I think there was three halves of football which were disappointing, which was both against Cheltenham and the first against Forest Green, but I thought second half we looked more like it and I’m hoping this Saturday we’ll see a lot more like what we can do and what we can achieve which we all know what we’re capable of.”
It’s a big game coming up against Barnsley?
“I don’t think it’s any different to what we know we’re going to come up against. We know really well what Michael’s teams look like, we’ve faced them for the last two years.
“What I’ve seen of Barnsley, we do a lot of prep and due diligence and it’s very similar. Probably a little slight tactical tweak from Cheltenham, more 3-4-3 than 3-5-2, but we have a plan, we know what we need to do, don’t worry about us being at home at all, so we’re looking forward to it.”
Do you contemplate changes having reflected on the last couple of defeats?
“I’m always contemplating changes. I think it’s important we don’t have knee jerk reactions. We must have some perspective that two bad results in five days does not make us a bad team. It’s not like those games weren't really close, the second game we should have won comfortably and on another day would have.
“I’ve had a chat with all the forward players this week, showed them some footage and to be honest, they’ve been told that we need more. It’s open and honest, we just need more.
"I think we’ve scored from open play two goals from our strikers this season which for us and the amount of chances we create it isn’t acceptable. They know that, they all accepted it, they understood it and they want to do more, so let’s hope we see a reaction this Saturday.”
How are the players feeling after back-to-back defeats?
“I think they are in a good place. I think they are frustrated. How am I? I am as cool as a cucumber. I understand the ebbs and flows of football season.
"There are times where we are going to get praised and times where we get heavily criticised. That is just the nature of the beast and that is football.
"I think it is important that we stay calm throughout the good times and bad. I think it is important that we stay calm throughout the good times and bad, and I think we have done that this week. We have kind of just kept our heads down, worked extremely hard.
"We know exactly where we need to improve, and it is still about improvement and progression. Still only 12 games gone for us – a long, long way to go. But other than probably those last two defeats, it has been a pretty good start and we have got four more home games this month, so we have got a chance to go out there and show what we can do.”
Is someone going to be on the end of a hiding soon?
“It would be nice to do it pretty soon and it would be nice to do it every week, but that is not football. It is not that easy, especially at this level. I think we all must stay humble and stay grounded and understand where we are at. We are going to have ebbs and flows.
"We are in League One – League One teams are allowed to beat us. It is just the nature of football. But we know where we want to be this season, there is no doubt about that. There is no shame in talking about it, but we have got to go out and achieve it. I genuinely think we have progressed again this season.
"The data and the stats I think mostly show it. We were looking at the data against Forest Green and the amount of final third entries we had, the amount of box entries, shots, clear cut chances, xG. It was all better than teams who had won three, four and five at Forest Green so there isn’t a lot wrong.
"It is just making sure we take those opportunities when we get them and staying calm, staying positive, staying together. I think that is what’s really important here. The way we play takes an immense amount of belief and confidence. Sometimes noise can hamper that confidence, and we have to make sure that we keep the players believing and confident because when we do and they are - like at home for instance – we have been excellent.”
What are you expecting from Barnsley?
“They are a good team. Michael has had a bit of a rebuild and I think they have lost a few players. They have also signed a few, and we know Michael’s teams are always high energy, high intensity.
"They know the style and structure they play with. It is about how we execute really and I think we need to concentrate and focus on ourselves and what we are trying to do to the opposition. If we can do that, I am always confident in our team. We just need to get back to winning ways really quickly and see what happens then.”
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