Ian Evatt wants his players to take another step forward as they face more potential top-six opposition, writes Pete Oliver.
Evatt’s unbeaten Wanderers’ side goes to London for the second time this season to take on Charlton Athletic at The Valley on Saturday.
The Whites kicked off their League One campaign with victory over Leyton Orient in the capital a fortnight ago.
They have since progressed in the Carabao Cup and drew 0-0 last weekend against another fancied side in Wrexham.
And Evatt believes Charlton – starting a season for the first time under Nathan Jones – are another likely promotion candidate as he looks to try and become the first manager to take points from them this season.
“I think they have improved and I expected that to be honest,” said the Wanderers’ boss. “Nathan is a manager who knows what he's doing and you can see the improvements they've made. They've had a good start with two victories even though they've been tight games.
“Everyone's just trying to find their rhythm at the moment and find out about themselves and I think it's a good game for us on Saturday. I think we stepped forward in our performance against Wrexham and I thought we deserved to win.
“We will just try and step up again on our performance and if we can do that it gives us a good chance of winning. I think Charlton will be in the top six this season. I think they will be extremely competitive so it's a good marker for us early on to see where we are at.”
Charlton finished last season with just one defeat in 15 games following the appointment of former Luton and Southampton boss Jones and have won both their opening league fixtures 1-0 this time around – with a 1-0 Carabao Cup exit in between.
But Wanderers’ record at the Valley in recent seasons is impressive with three successive wins under Evatt.
And the Whites’ manager is looking forward to trying to extend that run as his new-look squad continues to bed in and move nearer peak fitness.
“I just think, psychologically, it's a good place for us to go. We've got a good record there,” added Evatt, who has no fresh injury concerns and gave game time to half-a-dozen senior players in the B Team in mid-week to aid their match sharpness.
“They're a big club, an ex-Premier League club, with a big stadium and a big, open, expansive pitch which is kind of like home for us.
“It does suit us well but I think this Charlton team is a lot more competitive than ones we've faced in previous years, so I'm expecting a really challenging tough game but one we're very much looking forward to and I'm looking forward to seeing these lads progress on a weekly basis now.
“It is a solid start and that's probably exactly the right word for it. We're just looking to progress with each performance. I thought that was a step forward on Sunday and we're going to need to step forward again for this game on Saturday which is going to be a difficult one.”
Watch the manager's full pre-match interview on Wanderers TV HERE