Kieran Lee believes Wanderers’ weekend break has come at the ideal time after he made sure they go into it with a winning feeling.
Lee’s assured finish was enough to give Wanderers a 1-0 victory over a youthful Fleetwood Town line-up as Ian Evatt’s men booked their place in the last 16 of the Papa John’s Trophy.
The hard-earned success completed a busy run of eight games in four weeks across three competitions for the Whites.
And the players will now get a couple of days off before training over the weekend, when they face a blank fixture list, to build up to next Tuesday night’s League One return at Fleetwood.
“I think we probably need it,” said Lee.
“There have been a lot of games and we’ve got a lot of injuries, so the same players have had to play all these games.
“Mentally, as well, it will be nice just to switch off and have a little break and then make sure we’re ready for the next game next Tuesday.
“The most important thing was the result. We’re through to the next round which is the main thing, although performance-wise we weren’t happy with how it went.
“It was a strange game. They had a lot of young lads in their team and did really well and we just didn’t get going.
“It’s not an excuse but you could probably see a little bit of tiredness out there.
“But we got the win, we’re through to the next round and that’s the most important thing.”
Lee again underlined his importance to the cause with his calmly-taken fourth goal of the campaign just enough to hold off the spirited resistance of a Town side playing under interim manager Stephen Crainey for a second time.
At 33, Lee is a vital cog in the Wanderers’ midfield who recently clocked up the 400th appearance of a prodigious career.
The former Sheffield Wednesday and Oldham Athletic man recently committed to extending that at the University of Bolton Stadium.
And Lee was delighted to pen a contract extension until June, 2023 as he approaches 12 months with Wanderers.
“When I first signed my plan was to hopefully stay as long as I could,” added the one-time Manchester United youngster, who played a big part in the Whites’ promotion success last season.
“Things on the pitch have been going quite well, so it was nice we could get that sorted out and look forward to the rest of this season and next season as well.
“When I first came the manager made a big impression on me and since I’ve been here, all the lads and the fans and the football we play, everything was positive.
“We both wanted to extend for another year, so it was quite simple.”
For the post-match chat with Kieran, click HERE