Bolton Wanderers are on the road this weekend for the eighth and final game of a busy February when they take on MK Dons.
Wanderers travel to Stadium MK on Saturday afternoon as third takes on 10th in the League One standings.
Ian Evatt's side sit five points from the play-offs heading into tomorrow afternoon's encounter, while the Dons are three points from the automatic promotion places.
READ MORE: Bolton Wanderers injury update on Declan John ahead of key MK Dons clash
And Bolton can narrow their deficit to the top six with a win and potentially put themselves that much closer to being in the conversation for the play-offs at the end of the campaign.
Before the encounter, Wanderers boss Ian Evatt spoke to the press and here's a full transcript of what he had to tell broadcasters ahead of this Saturday's big game.
Any update on unavailability or injuries?
“Rico is back in today, which is positive. He’s had a couple of sleepless night but other than that, he’s back in with a big smile on his face. It’s great to have him back and fully ready for Saturday.”
They’re in good form, MK Dons?
“As are we. I’m really looking forward to the game. I think it’s going to be a really good game. I think I’ve watched a fair bit of them the last couple of days and they are a good team, a dangerous team.
"I love the way they play and what they’re trying to do, but we have some threats and weapons on our team as well, so I’m excited for the challenge.”
As a squad, do you get the feeling that the longer it goes on with win after win, it does bring a different type of confidence or swagger?
“Yeah I think our players are confident. I think they’ve got some real belief at the moment and that will only increase the more it goes on, especially when you are hopefully beating the teams that are above us in the positions that we want to be in.
"We’ve given ourselves an opportunity, that’s the most we could have asked for really and we’ve done that with a great run, but we want to continue it.
“I think we won 16 out of 22 last year, it’s going to have to take something similar but I think this group is capable of doing it.”
With the pitch and the playing surface you’ll be coming up against, do you feel more comfortable?
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think the pitch is as good as what we’d like it to be or them to be honest, because they’re a really attractive football team as well. I think it’s going to be a hindrance to both teams and not a help, but what I will say is that I think we’ve got the weapons to be able to cope with it, probably better than they have.
"So we will have a look at it and I’ve already got a team in my head, I’ve had it in my head for this game for two weeks. It hasn’t really changed apart from Kieran Lee really, but other than that I know what we’re going to need to do. I know the game plan, it’s just how well we execute that, that’s it’s now and we’ve got to prepare the players as best we can and hope they execute on Saturday.”
Does that come easily to you prepare for games in advance?
“I’m an avid football fan and I watch a lot of games and I watch a lot of teams to see what they’re doing and I know a lot of what MK do. I’m really looking forward to the tactical battle more than anything else. I think it’s going to be a tactical game and a technical game. I have to make sure that the information we give the players is correct.
“With the schedule it hasn’t been easy to get them out on the grass to prepare them, so they need to take it on visually, a lot of video analysis and understand what we’re trying to do, but I really believe the players can take it onboard and go there and get the result.”
In terms of your managerial career so far, where would you rank the test you had on Tuesday night and why?
“I love games like that against managers that see the game the similar way. It was really funny because the managers we tend to like, we have a beer with them in our office after the game on matchdays and Chris Markham said to me after ‘he’s just like another version of you, the way we speak, the way we see the game.’
"It’s great really and it’s refreshing to have some debate and football chat about the division, about our teams, about our game plans and it’s really good to hear and I thought it was a really good tactical battle on Tuesday. I think first half they edged it and really stifled us, but second half I think we came out and found the solutions and got the goals when we needed them.”
Are more matches like that against similar coaches are exactly what you need for the rest of this campaign?
“I’m a young manager but I’ve been in the game a long time. I understand the game. Yes, I’ll make mistakes, but everybody makes mistakes whether you’re young or experienced. But what you have to do is make sure that you learn from them and don’t make the same ones twice.
“I’m trying to do that, I’m trying to prepare us as best we can and I think we do, I think the information is good. Sometimes probably too much information to the players and that can have a detrimental effect so we have to be cautious with that, but the players are in a really good place and a really good spot at the moment. I’m pleased with where we’re at, but I think there’s more to come certainly.
"I think when we get time on the grass we’ll strip down and nail down some finer details but for now, we’re on a good run and long may that continue.”
Could a return to murderball be on the cards once you get time on the grass again?
“I think with where we’re at right now, I think we might have to park murderball because it’s so intense and we’ve played so many games and the last thing we need at the moment when we’ve got a squad rich full of options is to start breaking them down with some real intense training, especially at the back end of the season.
"For now it’s about really stripping them down and getting into the nitty gritty and finer details of the system. What we expect position-specific and see where we can go, that kind of work we saved for pre-season and the start of next season, but for now let’s nail down some detail and try and finish the season on the same run we’re on now. If we can do that we’ve got a good opportunity.”
Kieran Sadlier seemed fine with playing wing-back in midweek and that is the kind of thing you need with players being comfortable to play wherever you need them?
“Kieran can do that. Kieran can play left wing-back, right wing-back, number 10, number nine in this system, and in the other system he can play wide forward, nine, 10, possibly eight if needs be. That was one of the reasons why we wanted him so much because we knew he could give us that flexibility and he came on and did a great job. He did exactly what we wanted him to do.
"First half I thought our wing-backs were a little bit safe with their movements and the first real sign of fatigue from them both I think.
"Second half, Kieran came on and changed that dynamic, as did Kyle (Dempsey) and Amadou (Bakayoko), so we’ve got some firepower off the bench now and it might be the bench that wins us games. We have to make sure we’re in games and giving ourselves a chance and at the moment we’re doing that.”
Do you think there is going to be relief once this busy run of fixtures is out of the way, or is there disappointment because you’ve got so used to playing two games a week?
“I said to the staff in the middle of our recruitment at the beginning of January that by the end of February, we’ll know what our season is going to end up like and what it is going to look like. I think that’s the case.
"I think we’ve given ourselves a huge opportunity, win, lose or draw on Saturday, I must stress that the wins that we’ve had, regardless of the result on Saturday, we still have a chance but obviously a win would be great for confidence and hopefully we close that gap even more.
"We don’t go anywhere to draw, we’ll be going to MK to try and win the game, that’s just the way we are, it’s the way we see the game and hopefully we can do it.”
How do assess how much MK Dons have continued to improve under Liam Manning?
“I don’t think they are as extreme football-wise as they were last season. I think last season there was a lot of possession but without a purpose. This season they seem to have more of an attacking threat.
“They’ve got some very good players at the top end of the pitch, some good options. Obviously, Connor Wickham has played at the highest level. You’ve got Scott Twine, whose figures and stats stack up against anybody and is a very talented young man. They’ve got some good players.
“We have to make sure that defensively we’re sound but I think we’ll get some opportunities on the transition. When we get those opportunities, we have to take them.”
