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Neil Lennon has urged calm on the pitch and the terraces as he tries to arrest Wanderers’ slide down the Championship.
With just one win in seven league games, the Whites have dropped to 19th in the table and now sit just six points above the bottom three.
The rate of decline has been alarming but Lennon insists his side can avoid being dragged any further into a relegation battle, and see out the season in mid-table.
Brighton visit the Macron tomorrow fresh from a 2-0 win over Leeds United which helped them climb above Wanderers and pull further away from trouble.
With 13 games left to play, Lennon has time on his side.
“There is plenty of football left to play,” he told The Bolton News. “We need four or five wins to make sure we stay up, so that’s our aim.
“We can’t panic. You have to be realistic about things.
“I was concerned at the weekend, with the manner of the performance (at Nottingham Forest), but I knew they were better than that and I think they showed it at Boro.
“We are relishing the challenge and I think we’ll be okay in the end.”
Wanderers showed signs of improvement against Middlesbrough in midweek but still emerged without a point to show for their efforts.
Lennon now wants results with Brighton and Reading to visit the Macron in the next four days.
“We’ve got two home games now where you’d think we can pick up some points. We’ve got to win them,” he said.
“That’s the ultimate aim – win the next two and then start climbing the table.”
Lennon should welcome skipper Matt Mills back from suspension and also hopes to have Andy Lonergan and Tim Ream fit again after injuries picked up in the Forest defeat.
The game could come too soon for Craig Davies, however, with the big striker still struggling to get fully fit after a hamstring injury.
Lennon wants his side to set the same tempo to the game that they did in the second half against Boro on Tuesday night.
“We’d tidied things up at the back, we looked dangerous in attack, strong, and if the game had gone on five or 10 minutes I think we would have got something.
“We need to find those levels again on Saturday.”
Source
With just one win in seven league games, the Whites have dropped to 19th in the table and now sit just six points above the bottom three.
The rate of decline has been alarming but Lennon insists his side can avoid being dragged any further into a relegation battle, and see out the season in mid-table.
Brighton visit the Macron tomorrow fresh from a 2-0 win over Leeds United which helped them climb above Wanderers and pull further away from trouble.
With 13 games left to play, Lennon has time on his side.
“There is plenty of football left to play,” he told The Bolton News. “We need four or five wins to make sure we stay up, so that’s our aim.
“We can’t panic. You have to be realistic about things.
“I was concerned at the weekend, with the manner of the performance (at Nottingham Forest), but I knew they were better than that and I think they showed it at Boro.
“We are relishing the challenge and I think we’ll be okay in the end.”
Wanderers showed signs of improvement against Middlesbrough in midweek but still emerged without a point to show for their efforts.
Lennon now wants results with Brighton and Reading to visit the Macron in the next four days.
“We’ve got two home games now where you’d think we can pick up some points. We’ve got to win them,” he said.
“That’s the ultimate aim – win the next two and then start climbing the table.”
Lennon should welcome skipper Matt Mills back from suspension and also hopes to have Andy Lonergan and Tim Ream fit again after injuries picked up in the Forest defeat.
The game could come too soon for Craig Davies, however, with the big striker still struggling to get fully fit after a hamstring injury.
Lennon wants his side to set the same tempo to the game that they did in the second half against Boro on Tuesday night.
“We’d tidied things up at the back, we looked dangerous in attack, strong, and if the game had gone on five or 10 minutes I think we would have got something.
“We need to find those levels again on Saturday.”
Source