Ian Evatt insists Wanderers will be ready to take on the challenge when Derby County come to town for a heavyweight clash.
Evatt’s men meet the Rams at the Toughsheet Community Stadium on Saturday in one of the stand-out fixtures of the season.
Both clubs have made decent starts in their bid to go the early promotion pace, with Evatt hoping to go one better than last season’s 0-0 home draw when a Christmas-time crowd of over 25,000 gave Wanderers their biggest attendance since their Premier League days of a decade ago.
“I think pre-season everyone would be looking for this game as two teams which are fancied to be at the top end of this league and direct competitors,” said the Wanderers’ boss.
“Of course, both teams will want to win because it will be a huge confidence boost for the season moving forwards.
“We know it’s going to be really tough. Derby are an excellent team. Warnie (manager Paul Warne) has got a fantastic record in this division and they’re going to come ready for the challenge.
“But so are we, and we need to make sure we perform to the level I know we can get to and if we do then we’re confident we can get a good result.
“The games we had last year, we were disappointed we didn’t get more points from, especially the home game. The away game I don’t think we performed to our level but they were in red-hot form at the time.
“They’re in good form again now. They’ve won their last two games and will be looking to come here and make a statement. But so are we.”
After two defeats in their opening three league games, Derby have won their last two fixtures and have won both their away games to date.
But Wanderers have a point more after losing just once in their opening five league games and could back to the top of the table with a third home win as Evatt prepares to face the club where he started his playing career.
“They are two huge clubs, brilliantly supported, and I believe both belong at a higher level,” he added.
“But at the moment we are where we and both clubs need to work very hard to get back where I believe they belong.
“The only table that matters is the one after the last game of the season. But for us it’s about having a good start and solidifying that good start and we can do that on Saturday by beating one of our direct competitors.”
Watch the manager’s full pre-match interview on Wanderers TV. To subscribe, click HERE