Steven Schumacher wants his players to show their street-wise streak to try and accumulate the points needed to reach the play-offs, writes Pete Oliver.
Schumacher leads Wanderers back into League One action following the international break at Blackpool on Saturday as the Whites embark on their final nine games of the campaign.
Wanderers have taken 16 points from the Schumacher’s first nine matches as head coach and a similar return over the run-in would give his side 76 points – the same total achieved last season by Barnsley as they finished sixth and in the final play-off spot.
“The last two games that we lost against Bristol Rovers and against Stockport were disappointing results, no doubt. We can't argue with that,” said Schumacher, who is looking for his side to bounce back at Bloomfield Road.
“But the performance levels in both games, we've probably done enough to have won them both on another day. There were things that we could get better on – again, I’m not arguing that – but the players can't lose confidence in what we're asking them to do.
“They've been playing well and if they keep that belief and stick together as a group, then we're sure that they'll have enough in the tank to get the points that we need to get us in the positions in the play-offs that we want to be in.”
Schumacher added: “The results will come if we perform well enough. I don't think we've had a game where I can look at the team and say we were miles off it today, and occasionally you will get that during a season.
“I can't say I've seen that yet, so that's the message to the players: keep performing at the level, keep putting in the energy that you're playing at, try and be a bit more clinical, try not to make as many mistakes as we've made in the opening nine games. And be a bit tighter, be a bit more streetwise, if you like, because in these last nine games, that's what it's going to take. It's going to take everybody being at it, 100 per cent focus.
“And if we can get the same amount of points as we accumulated in the first nine games that we were here, then we'll have a chance. So that's the message, just stick to the plan.”
Wanderers re-grouped over the international break with a mix of rest, recuperation and return to work as they prepare for big back-to-back away games at local rivals Blackpool and then Wigan Athletic next Tuesday night.
Defender Eoin Toal will miss both matches as he begins a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury which forced him to withdraw from international action with Northern Ireland.
However, Ricardo Almeida Santos and Kyle Dempsey added to their 45-minute appearances at Everton last Sunday with a further run-out for an hour for the B Team at Manchester City on Thursday afternoon, while defender George Johnston could be fit enough to return missing three games with a hamstring injury.
Seventh-placed Wanderers haven’t won at Blackpool since 1977 but Schumacher won’t let history weigh heavy for his current crop of players as they look to hand the Seasiders – who sit 10th in the table – just a third league loss since Boxing Day and get their play-off push back in top gear.
"They're a good team. Going forward their data is really strong, similar to ourselves, so it should be an attacking game," Schumacher told Wanderers TV. "They've got good players who are in good rhythm at the moment, so it's going to be a tough game. We have to make sure that we're ready for that.
“It's a huge few days and being local rivalry games as well, there's a little bit more at stake. We didn't get the last one right (against Stockport) with the result. Hopefully we can get this one right on Saturday.
“We know what's at stake. We know how important it is for our fans and we prepare for that. The players will be aware of it. I wasn't aware of the history being so long, of not winning there. But, again, we'd never won at Burton (until three weeks ago). Hopefully we can have a similar outcome.”
Watch the manager’s full pre-match interview on Wanderers TV