Read back the manager's thoughts following Saturday's Emirates FA Cup victory over the Mariners
Liam Trotter scored the only goal of the game with a looping header to give the Wanderers victory and earn progression into the second round of the Emirates FA Cup alongside further extending their winning run to seven games.
And following the final whistle at Macron Stadium, manager Phil Parkinson discussed the following points…
On his side's display in the cup…
It’s good to get the victory that we needed. I thought we could have scored more in the first half, but we didn’t take our chances.
In the second half, Grimsby have to be given credit for making it a real cup tie. We were careless in possession and we gave away the ball cheaply. However, when called upon, our defending was excellent.
We had suspensions and injuries to deal with so it has to be looked at as a terrific result.
On making it seven victories in a row…
This was right up there with one of the hardest games out of the seven. They came as an underdog to our stadium with nothing to lose and you could see they were playing with that mentality.
In the first half I was pleased and in the second half there are areas we could do better, but it keeps our run going.
On the Emirates FA Cup…
We spoke about how Bolton have a great tradition in the FA Cup and it was important that we showed the right commitment today.
I’m pleased with the effort and application to win the game although there were other parts where we could have done better.
On his team selection…
For me, it was important that we kept as much continuity in the team as possible - all the lads were desperate to play.
Whilst there are a lot of players out, others have had an opportunity to come in and show what they can do and people are giving us food for thought all the time.
And finally, on the performance of Mark Howard…
I’m pleased with Mark today - he’s played well again and has done his job by keeping the ball out of the back of the net.
The defence have all done their bit and I thought we were excellent at the back today. When called upon, Mark has been producing big moments and we expect him to keep these high standards because he’s a very good goalkeeper.