Ian Evatt wants to complete a ‘decent’ season with a sustained push to the finishing line as Wanderers look to continue their unbeaten run.
Evatt’s men go to Cheltenham Town for their final away-day on the back of a six-match unbeaten sequence and maximum points over the Easter weekend.
A record of just three defeats in their last 20 league games would put the fast-finishing Whites just two points off top spot of a form table over that period.
And while the current League One standings see Wanderers sitting 10th and 10 points outside the play-off zone, Evatt is pleased with the progress made from a team which has served up a dozen wins and some top-quality football since mid-January.
“Many weeks ago we set the players a points’ target. Believe it or not it’s still achievable – just about,” said the Wanderers’ boss.
“It’s not going to get us in the play-offs. I think it’s a freak year this year but 67 points with two to play is not to be sniffed at.
“I think if we get to the points’ total we want to achieve, I think nine out of the last 10 years that would have been enough to get into the play-offs.
“It shows that we’ve had a decent season. We need to improve – and we want to improve because we want to be the best.
“But we’ve built a solid foundation and structure this season and I think most people are relatively pleased with how we’ve done.”
Wanderers have built on last season’s promotion success with a potential points’ tally that would certainly have kept them in the hunt right until the final day of most seasons.
A team may yet miss out on a top-six finish with 80 points this time around as the promotion candidates continue to slug it out at the top end of the table.
And Wanderers will guarantee themselves a top-10 finish if they can win at Cheltenham today (Saturday) and then sign off with another victory over relegation-threatened Fleetwood Town on the final weekend.
“It wasn’t meant to be but we want to get as many points as we possibly can and carry the momentum through to next season,” added Evatt, who will have midfielder Kyle Dempsey back in his squad to face the 14th-placed Robins.
“We want these unbeaten spells. We expect them really.
“Being a Bolton Wanderers manager we’re expected to win. The business of football is all about winning.
“So be professional, make sure we give it our best shot to win these last two games and then carry some momentum through to next season.”
Watch the manager's pre-match interview HERE