Ian Evatt is relishing a crack at league leaders and title favourites Birmingham City, writes Pete Oliver.
The Blues have spent big in a bid to bounce straight back to the Championship and currently lead the way in the League One promotion race.
But Wanderers’ own push is gathering pace and Evatt takes his side to St Andrew’s on Tuesday night on the back of a run of four wins in five games for one of the fixtures of the season so far.
“In terms of our league form we’re in a good place. Do I think there's more to come? Absolutely,” said the Wanderers’ boss, who has seen his side climb to within a point of the top six with a game in hand on four of the sides above them in the table.
“This is probably as tough as it gets, the toughest game of the season, the toughest away game of the season. It's down to us to go and embrace that, enjoy it and try and find a way of getting a positive result. The players will be prepared, we'll come up with a plan and hopefully on the day that's the right one.
“It’s a huge occasion. Obviously they've got their own aspirations and rightly so, given what's been done in the summer in terms of the summer window. We've got aspirations as well.
“Our journey so far this season has been different to theirs but we're picking up points again now and we're climbing to where we want to be. It's very tight at the top and, fingers crossed, we can have a few good weeks up to the next international break because we're playing a lot of the teams that are in and around us and picking up points against them is vital.”
Birmingham have lost only once in the league so far this term and are unbeaten at home, where they are expecting another near 28,000 full house to face the Whites.
Wanderers, meanwhile, have lost just once on their travels, with three wins out of four away from home giving them a decent platform to take into their toughest test so far.
“We've picked up, we've got some good wins and I still feel there's more to come,” Evatt – who will serve the second game of a three-match ban – told Wanderers TV.
“We're going to do our best to make sure we keep improving, keep working hard and go to Birmingham full of confidence to try and get the win. We don't go anywhere to draw, we don't go anywhere to shut up shop. We go to go toe-to-toe and hopefully that's what we'll do tomorrow to get three points.
“I think it will be a high standard game. I think they play a style and a brand which is better suited to the higher echelons of the game and I think we try to do the same, to be aesthetically pleasing.
“We want to manage the ball and we want to be aggressive without it and I think that won't really change. They certainly won't change because they're flying and full of confidence, so I think it'll be a really good game.
“A game for us where we will be tested, there's no doubt, but it's something to look forward to and aspire to go and get a brilliant three points, so, fingers crossed, we can do that.”