Ian Evatt is aiming for a big finish to send Wanderers into the next international break on a high, writes Pete Oliver.
The Whites go to North-West neighbours Stockport County on Saturday for their last League One game for a fortnight on the back of six wins from their last eight league games.
That run has lifted Evatt’s men into the top six and the boss wants one more decent result to stay in touch with the early pace-setters at the top of the table with almost a third of the season complete.
“That's where we have to be looking,” said Evatt. “This is a football club which has demands and expectations and we want to meet those, so putting points on the board is crucial in this period.
“After an indifferent start it will help us to get closer to where we want to get to, so it’s all systems go for Saturday, full focus on Saturday and we’ll be raring to go.
“We looked at this block of games and everyone thought it would be quite difficult and it has been. But we've got nine points from four games, which is over the two points the game we always look for.
“If we can get a positive result on Saturday that takes us to two points or more, which is a great block for us, especially given the games that we've had. We'll do our best to do that and finish strongly before the break in the league and then re-set, re-group, get some bodies back again and look to attack the Christmas period.”
Wanderers have lost just once in the league since the low point of their 4-0 home defeat to Huddersfield Town in mid-September, with only new league leaders Wycombe taking more points than the Whites over the intervening period.
Wycombe’s latest win saw them thump Stockport 5-0 at Edgeley Park on Tuesday night to go top of the table and Evatt expects County to be stung by that result.
“We understand that Tuesday for them was a bit like Huddersfield was for us and on the back of Huddersfield we had a reaction and a response,“ he added. “We've kicked on and I think they'll be a different team on Saturday to the one we saw on Tuesday night and we have to be ready for that.”
Wanderers’ squad for a first trip to Stockport for 24 years will be strengthened by the return from injury of goalkeeper Nathan Baxter, vice-captain Gethin Jones and wideman Jordi Osei-Tutu.
The latter two aren’t yet ready to start but Jones got his first 45 minutes of the season under his belt in the B Team on Tuesday and Evatt believes the presence of the long-serving defender will be beneficial to his team’s bid to keep climbing the table.
“It's players that understand and know what's required to be a Bolton Wanderers’ football player,” Evatt told Wanderers TV. “We know there's a huge expectancy, we know what the fans demand and what they want and it's not for everybody.
“It's not an easy thing to come here and do and sometimes have the weight of the world on your shoulders. But the players embrace it and this is a brilliant football club to play for and be part of when things are going extremely well and at the moment things are going a lot better for us.
“We're back in a decent position, nowhere near where we want to be, but certainly better than it was at the start of the season and we want to build on that grow and Saturday gives us a great opportunity against local rivals to get some more points on the board and get us closer towards our goal.”
Watch the manager’s full pre-match interview and hear from fit-again forward Klaidi Lolos on Wanderers TV HERE ahead of Saturday's game at Edgeley Park