Ian Evatt believes strength in adversity will be key to Wanderers’ fortunes this season as they look to head back up the League One table today.
Evatt’s men lost for just the second time this term when they conceded two late goals at Reading last weekend.
And how they handle that kind of set-back will be vital, according to the boss ahead of the visit of Peterborough United when Wanderers will be aiming to move back into the top six.
“We were obviously very disappointed we didn’t win the game last Saturday, given the magnitude of the chances we created,” said Evatt, whose side should have had the points in the bag if they’d added to Dion Charles’ early goal.
“We could and should have won the game. We didn’t and now is not the time to feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve got a really important game against very good opposition, very dangerous opposition, and we need to bounce back and get the right result.
“One result doesn’t define our season. It’s onto the next one. We’ve done a lot of things right so far with one or two hiccups.
“And how we respond to the hiccups is what’s really important and what will define our season; just respond in the right way and perform in the right way and our full focus is on Saturday.”
Wanderers followed their only previous league defeat this season – a home loss to Wigan Athletic – by picking up four points in their next two games.
That tally included an impressive home win over Derby County and Evatt also wants the fans to stay together as they did in that game to help keep Wanderers on track in their quest to sustain a promotion challenge.
He added: “As I said at the start of the season, there’s a huge difference between ambition and entitlement.
“We are hugely ambitious this season and we’ve made no secret of that. But we’re not guaranteed to do anything. We’re going to try our best but there are 23 other teams in the league that have their own ambitions.
“We will have to fight tooth and nail to get to where we want to go get to. There are going to be ups and there are going to be downs.
“The most important thing in this football club is managing the downs. When we do face adversity, how we react to that adversity is really important. So, stick together, keep backing the team and I’m sure come the end of the season you won’t be too disappointed.”
Watch the manager’s full pre-match interview on Wanderers TV by going HERE