Boss Ian Evatt hopes Wanderers’ dramatic late win at Exeter can be a turning point for his players as they look to attack League One’s top six in the second half of the season, writes Pete Oliver.
Late goals from Aaron Collins and Aaron Morley on his return from a loan spell at Wycombe propelled the Whites to a 2-1 victory at St James’ Park.
And Evatt wants his team to build on a fifth away win of the campaign to close the gap on the play-off places with a more consistent run in 2025 after they had bounced back from gifting Exeter an opening goal.
“It was annoying today because I think we're better than conceding that goal,” said Evatt. “We had large spells of control, especially for being away from home. I thought Wednesday (at Mansfield) was pretty good, other than the result, and performances are getting slightly better.
“It was good against Lincoln as well but we have to back that up with results and I think today could be a real turning point, confidence-wise, for these players. It can be a catalyst that could be huge for us.
“This team is capable of putting wins together consistently but we've spoken about that too often. It can't be tomorrow, it can't be next week. It has to be now. We have to take responsibility today.
“It's not necessarily about the opposition, not necessarily about the naysayers or the non-believers, so to speak. We have to take care of our own business and take responsibility for that and take ownership of that and hopefully that's a huge turning point in making that happen.
“There's nothing decided yet. There's a lot of football to be played and still half a season to go. We've got 37 points, which is nowhere near enough for us in half a season, but we're capable of getting a lot more in the second half of the season.
“This is a big window coming up. We need to make some changes and some improvements which we will do and keep going and keep fighting. That's what we are. We're fighters and we'll keep doing the best we can for this football club.”
The late goals were also a fitting reward the 750 fans who made the long trip to the south-west, who were praised by Evatt, along with the two-match winners as Morley made an instant impact on his return to the club after also sinking Exeter on his final appearance for Wycombe on New Year’s Day.
“These players are so resilient. They kept going and we responded well and deserved to get the win,” the manager added.
“They will be sick of the sight of Aaron. That's two winners in four days. I thought he was excellent today. He looked fit, he looked confident, composed and having him further up late on in the game where he can use his final delivery or a shooting is really good.
“Collo has got 12 goals now for this season which is going under the radar a little bit he creates big chances and has big moments. We just need to make those more consistent.”