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Neil Lennon feels his senior players have more to prove in Wanderers’ survival effort.
Experienced heads such as Mark Davies, Darren Pratley, Dorian Dervite and Jay Spearing are being asked to raise their game and help manage the pressure building around the club.
The Whites host QPR on Saturday just 48 hours before club representatives are due in the High Court to answer a winding-up order from HMRC.
In the worst case scenario Lennon’s side could be eight points adrift of safety by Saturday evening should they lose against the Hoops and MK Dons draw with Bristol City.
However with Rotherham travelling to Burnley and Charlton at an ever-improving Fulham, victory could lift Wanderers off the bottom of the table and within four points of 21st position.
With so much is riding on the outcome of this weekend’s clash, Lennon has appealed to his most seasoned players to help the younger element handle the occasion.
“I need some of the more senior lads to start managing games better,” he told The Bolton News. “Some of my younger players are really coming to the fore but they need guidance out there, especially in the situation we’re in.
“You look at what happened (at Brighton) and you just want them to see the game out and get a result.
“I’m not going to single one player out – it’s a culmination of things.”
Wanderers have 24 points from their 31 games so far, and no team has ever recovered from that situation and survived since the Championship was rebranded in 2004.
Lennon maintains there is enough time to change things but admits there is little margin for error.
“There is a third of the season to go virtually so we can’t give up,” he said. “We need to start capitalising on some of these better performances and stringing results together.
“It’s got to the stage where we can’t make many more mistakes along the way. We need to start grinding results out and I think the other clubs will come back to us because there is still a hell of a lot of games left to go.”
Wanderers hope to have Dean Moxey fit again for Saturday’s game after the full-back pulled out of the squad at Brighton with a dead leg.
It is not yet known whether top scorer Gary Madine will be in the squad, with the six-goal striker out of action since the 2-1 FA Cup defeat against Leeds United nursing groin and back injuries.
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Experienced heads such as Mark Davies, Darren Pratley, Dorian Dervite and Jay Spearing are being asked to raise their game and help manage the pressure building around the club.
The Whites host QPR on Saturday just 48 hours before club representatives are due in the High Court to answer a winding-up order from HMRC.
In the worst case scenario Lennon’s side could be eight points adrift of safety by Saturday evening should they lose against the Hoops and MK Dons draw with Bristol City.
However with Rotherham travelling to Burnley and Charlton at an ever-improving Fulham, victory could lift Wanderers off the bottom of the table and within four points of 21st position.
With so much is riding on the outcome of this weekend’s clash, Lennon has appealed to his most seasoned players to help the younger element handle the occasion.
“I need some of the more senior lads to start managing games better,” he told The Bolton News. “Some of my younger players are really coming to the fore but they need guidance out there, especially in the situation we’re in.
“You look at what happened (at Brighton) and you just want them to see the game out and get a result.
“I’m not going to single one player out – it’s a culmination of things.”
Wanderers have 24 points from their 31 games so far, and no team has ever recovered from that situation and survived since the Championship was rebranded in 2004.
Lennon maintains there is enough time to change things but admits there is little margin for error.
“There is a third of the season to go virtually so we can’t give up,” he said. “We need to start capitalising on some of these better performances and stringing results together.
“It’s got to the stage where we can’t make many more mistakes along the way. We need to start grinding results out and I think the other clubs will come back to us because there is still a hell of a lot of games left to go.”
Wanderers hope to have Dean Moxey fit again for Saturday’s game after the full-back pulled out of the squad at Brighton with a dead leg.
It is not yet known whether top scorer Gary Madine will be in the squad, with the six-goal striker out of action since the 2-1 FA Cup defeat against Leeds United nursing groin and back injuries.
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