Ian Evatt wants Wanderers’ resurgence to extend into the international break as the Whites go for four in a row, writes Pete Oliver.
Evatt’s men entertain struggling Shrewsbury Town on Saturday in their final League One game for a fortnight.
The Whites have bounced back from a winless – and goalless – four-game league run with a hat-trick of wins which have propelled them up the table.
And Evatt doesn’t want the revival to stop here after praising his players’ approach to turning around their form.
“Obviously we were disappointed with the way this season started. We just weren't good enough and we had to look at ourselves and come back and respond,” said the Wanderers’ boss.
“Football seasons and football in general are about how you respond in difficult times because the good times certainly don't last all the time. It ebbs and flows and you have momentum swinging both ways.
“You have to be resilient and I think we've been resilient and we've responded in a good way. But we now have to maintain that response and go into Saturday with a really positive attitude and take the game to Shrewsbury and make it very difficult for them.
“We're not totally disregarding the game on Tuesday (against Aston Villa U21s in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy) because that's another game we want to win. But in terms of the league campaign - one more big effort, one more big push before we lose some players to international duty and we get some players back in that window as well.
“It’s a big focus and if we can win again on Saturday that's four straight league wins which is a brilliant response and shows great character and resilience to come back from where we were a few weeks ago.”
Wanderers launched their revival a fortnight ago with a 5-2 home win over Reading before a run of three successive away games in the south of the country.
The Whites collected maximum points in the league with Tuesday’s night’s impressive 4-2 success at Northampton Town taking the goal tally to 11 in three league games.
And Evatt is now happy to be heading back home again and hoping for a repeat of the last performance at the Toughsheet Community Stadium when fans and players came together to overcome Reading and re-light a spark.
“Six days on the road, with the length of those journeys, was tough and different types of games,” he told Wanderers TV. “Arsenal away doesn't come around very often and then Northampton and Crawley, two difficult places to go and two difficult games.
“I thought we navigated our way through them pretty well. I think Tuesday was excellent for 90 minutes and then seven minutes of a lack of focus and concentration and a stark reminder of what can happen when we do lose focus.
“But we're happy to be home and happy with the way the last game went and hopefully we can start fast again, get the crowd right behind us and make it really intimidating for Shrewsbury.
“It’s our responsibility as a group to get the fans entertained and get their bums off seat and then it’s the fans’ collective responsibility to drive the team on when we are in good moments and in good form.
“Hopefully we can play our part on Saturday. I know the fans will play theirs and we can come together again and make it very difficult for the opposition and hopefully have another good performance and a good victory.”
Evatt has confirmed that defender Chris Forino is set for three or four months on the sidelines after under-going surgery on the hamstring injury he sustained in last week’s Carabao Cup loss at Arsenal.
But the Whites’ defensive department is set for reinforcements after the up-coming international break with both Gethin Jones and Will Forrester close to returns.
Watch the manager’s full pre-match interview on Wanderers TV HERE