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Neil Lennon has thrown down a gauntlet to Ben Amos to maintain his top form when Wanderers need it most.
The Whites boss praised his goalkeeper’s performance in Saturday’s 2-1 win against Rotherham United, which raised hope survival is still within the team’s grasp.
Amos’s displays had come under the microscope in recent games, and Lennon is hoping the former Manchester United man will produce more of his best football in the coming weeks.
“Ben was superb, made some crucial saves at crucial times, and we are going to need that if we are going to get out of this,” the manager said.
“I have thrown down the challenge to Ben, asked him if he can get to that level, and he has come up trumps for us.”
Doubts had been cast on Amos’s grasp on the number-one spot after a couple of mistakes against Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship and Leeds United in the FA Cup. The 25-year-old was also sent off in the 3-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest, which led to a one-match ban.
Lennon admits his keeper has come under pressure in recent weeks but was delighted to see his reaction at the weekend.
“He’s in the unenviable position where all the individual errors get highlighted,” he said. “But right now he deserves to be praised to the heavens because he made some great saves against Rotherham.”
Lennon would be happy to see his side ‘win ugly’ more often this season after admitting they were far from their best against the Millers.
“We need to start finding a way to get three points,” he told The Bolton News. “If that means winning ugly, fair enough.
“I enjoyed the performance against Wolves more than I did Rotherham but I enjoyed the result against Rotherham more than I did against Wolves, where we only got a point.
“I am not complaining at all – I want to make that clear.
“A lot of questions have been asked of this group of players but I think in the last three league games they have come up with some answers.
“I think psychologically that result gives us a massive boost and I have to give some credit to the players at the moment because they are performing miracles for us right now.”
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The Whites boss praised his goalkeeper’s performance in Saturday’s 2-1 win against Rotherham United, which raised hope survival is still within the team’s grasp.
Amos’s displays had come under the microscope in recent games, and Lennon is hoping the former Manchester United man will produce more of his best football in the coming weeks.
“Ben was superb, made some crucial saves at crucial times, and we are going to need that if we are going to get out of this,” the manager said.
“I have thrown down the challenge to Ben, asked him if he can get to that level, and he has come up trumps for us.”
Doubts had been cast on Amos’s grasp on the number-one spot after a couple of mistakes against Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship and Leeds United in the FA Cup. The 25-year-old was also sent off in the 3-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest, which led to a one-match ban.
Lennon admits his keeper has come under pressure in recent weeks but was delighted to see his reaction at the weekend.
“He’s in the unenviable position where all the individual errors get highlighted,” he said. “But right now he deserves to be praised to the heavens because he made some great saves against Rotherham.”
Lennon would be happy to see his side ‘win ugly’ more often this season after admitting they were far from their best against the Millers.
“We need to start finding a way to get three points,” he told The Bolton News. “If that means winning ugly, fair enough.
“I enjoyed the performance against Wolves more than I did Rotherham but I enjoyed the result against Rotherham more than I did against Wolves, where we only got a point.
“I am not complaining at all – I want to make that clear.
“A lot of questions have been asked of this group of players but I think in the last three league games they have come up with some answers.
“I think psychologically that result gives us a massive boost and I have to give some credit to the players at the moment because they are performing miracles for us right now.”
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