Defender offers his thoughts following the Whites' derby clash with Burnley
Having made his first start for Wanderers in almost five months against Burnley on Tuesday evening, David Wheater is determined to put his recent injury setback behind him and focus on helping the Whites climb up the league table during the remainder of the season.
Sidelined since September with a knee injury, the 26-year-old lined up in the Bolton backline against the Clarets with Sean Dyche’s side leaving the Reebok with all three points courtesy of Sam Vokes’ second half strike.
Despite an ultimately disappointing return to the starting line-up however, Wheater believes that he and his teammates were unfortunate to leave the game empty handed following a solid display.
“It was disappointing that we couldn’t get something from the game as especially in the first half, I felt like we gave a really good account of ourselves,” said the defender following the final whistle.
“It was hard coming up against players like Sam Vokes and Danny Ings who are in such great form – with Vokes, he’s a big lad who can win headers very easily and then you’ve got Ings who is very quick and can run in behind.
“Saying that, until Burnley scored I felt like we kept them both pretty quiet and we did well.
“On a personal level, I think I did okay once I’d settled back into the game and it felt great to be back out there.”
With a trip to the capital to face Millwall next on the agenda for Wanderers, Wheater admits that although it will no doubt be a challenging clash against the Lions, the team are determined to finally convert their performances into three points.
“Saturday is going to be a hard game, especially with the atmosphere that their fans create down there,” he explained.
“I thrive off places like that though – I feel like it spurs you on to work harder and prove a point.
“It’s not going to be easy but if we keep doing as we have been, create a few more chances and finish teams off, the results will come.”