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Neil Lennon wants his side to tear up the script at Bournemouth tonight and make sure the Championship promotion race extends to the final weekend of the season.
A win for the Cherries would see them all-but mathematically guaranteed Premier League football for the first time in the club’s history.
But Lennon is not content to play “second fiddle” and wants to use the mounting pressure on Eddie Howe’s side to his advantage.
Both Norwich City and Middlesbrough will be hoping Wanderers can pull off a surprise result on the South Coast to give them a fighting chance of securing a spot in the top two next week.
And speaking to The Bolton News, Lennon assures everyone his side will be doing their best to spoil the promotion party.
“Bournemouth have got a huge motivation to win the game, they have the Premier League in their sights now,” he said. “But there will be a nervous tension about the match right from the off, and I think it’s something we can use.
“There’s going to be a party atmosphere in the ground and I don’t like that. If they think we’ll go all the way down there to make up the numbers, roll over and give them three points then they’d better think again.
“It’s good to think we could give teams like this a bloody nose from time to time.”
Lennon warned his side they will have to hit the ground running at the Goldsands Stadium, with Bournemouth likely to try to get the game won early.
“We need to make sure we don’t concede early on because they do like to come quickly out of the blocks – and I think the longer it stays level the more nerves spread around the ground,” he said.
“It’s definitely something I’ve conveyed to the players. But we have been much, much better away from home recently so I don’t think they will have any major problems with that.”
How Lennon addressed the injury problems in his squad remains to be seen, with Josh Vela, Matt Mills and Paddy McCarthy all missing from the squad that travelled to Brentford last weekend.
Neil Danns and Barry Bannan are included, however, after being suspended by Lennon last week for a breach of club discipline.
Source
A win for the Cherries would see them all-but mathematically guaranteed Premier League football for the first time in the club’s history.
But Lennon is not content to play “second fiddle” and wants to use the mounting pressure on Eddie Howe’s side to his advantage.
Both Norwich City and Middlesbrough will be hoping Wanderers can pull off a surprise result on the South Coast to give them a fighting chance of securing a spot in the top two next week.
And speaking to The Bolton News, Lennon assures everyone his side will be doing their best to spoil the promotion party.
“Bournemouth have got a huge motivation to win the game, they have the Premier League in their sights now,” he said. “But there will be a nervous tension about the match right from the off, and I think it’s something we can use.
“There’s going to be a party atmosphere in the ground and I don’t like that. If they think we’ll go all the way down there to make up the numbers, roll over and give them three points then they’d better think again.
“It’s good to think we could give teams like this a bloody nose from time to time.”
Lennon warned his side they will have to hit the ground running at the Goldsands Stadium, with Bournemouth likely to try to get the game won early.
“We need to make sure we don’t concede early on because they do like to come quickly out of the blocks – and I think the longer it stays level the more nerves spread around the ground,” he said.
“It’s definitely something I’ve conveyed to the players. But we have been much, much better away from home recently so I don’t think they will have any major problems with that.”
How Lennon addressed the injury problems in his squad remains to be seen, with Josh Vela, Matt Mills and Paddy McCarthy all missing from the squad that travelled to Brentford last weekend.
Neil Danns and Barry Bannan are included, however, after being suspended by Lennon last week for a breach of club discipline.
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