Ahead of Sunday's Alliance Design & Print Cup tie against Tranmere Rovers, Bolton Wanderers Women's manager Myles Smith praised the work ethic of his squad following the change in their schedule in the last few days.
Wanderers were due to face Morecambe FC Reserves in the County Cup last weekend, with the tie not taking place with the Shrimps unable to fulfil the fixture and the Whites subsequently progressing as a result.
With no competitive football last weekend, Smith and his coaching staff moved fast to ensure that it was not a wasted weekend on a football front - with the team in to train across both days - and the Women's manager was full of praise for the reaction to the change in their schedule at short notice - for both players and staff.
"It was unfortunate that the game was called off but given the short turnaround, we reacted in the best way we could," he said.
"We got the players in and put some good work in on the training pitch. We got that physical stimulus that we would have missed with having no game, and even managed to look at a few things as well - so full credit goes to the players and staff for reacting in such short notice and getting the work done.
"It would have been easy to have the weekend off but we need to do the right things to give us the best chance of winning week-in-week-out, so in the end it's been a positive few days."
Wanderers return to cup action this weekend when meeting Rovers in the Alliance Design & Print Cup on Sunday afternoon. With a perfect record so far in the league this season - but losing out to this weekend's opponents last month in the FA Cup - the Whites will head into this fixture looking to beat higher league opposition and progress into the next round.
"We will approach it as we do any other game," he said.
"We have our identity and our way of playing that we may tweak for the opposition that come up against, but we want to win the game.
"We played them in the FA Cup, which was a really good game of football and a physical battle but the result didn't go our way. For large moments in that game, I thought we were the better team - especially in the second half - so we'll be looking to correct that and try get the result.
"We know what they can bring and their physicality, so we have to prepare for that and make sure we're ready to go from the first minute."
With Wanderers usual home of the Dreams2Reality Stadium unavailable, Myles Smith's side will make the short trip across to Victory Park and make roots at Chorley FC this weekend - a setup that the Women's manager is delighted with and hopes the support they have seen throughout this season continues on Sunday.
"I must say that we have a fantastic home at Atherton Collieries and we are delighted to be there, but Sunday offers us an opportunity to showcase everything that is great about what we’re building here to new supporters.
“Victory Park is a fantastic venue and everyone at Chorley has been really welcoming ahead of this weekend. The pitch is in perfect condition and the facilities are brilliant, so we can’t wait to get out there.
“We’ve had unbelievable support so far this season, with 500 fans already turning up to home games – so here’s hoping we can replicate, if not better, that turnout in what is set to be a tough but exciting game.”
As always with Wanderers Women's home game, admission is free for all supporters, so head down on Sunday afternoon and show your support!