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Phil Parkinson looks forward to having a fit and firing front line – but heads to Walsall this afternoon confident his strike force is strong enough to bring home three points.
Missing Zach Clough and Max Clayton through injury for the majority of the season so far and top-scorer Gary Madine for last weekend’s draw with MK Dons, the Whites boss is reticent to criticise his side too heavily for lacking a bit of ruthlessness in recent weeks.
That was the charge levelled at Wanderers after a third successive 1-1 draw which was - arguably – gained against the toughest opponent yet faced and was also still enough to keep the club top of the League One table for another week.
As such, Parkinson and his staff were a little bemused by some of the criticism which came the Whites’ way. But with Sammy Ameobi pushing hard for his first start at the Banks’s Stadium, Clough fit again and both Keshi Anderson and Jamie Proctor already off the mark this season, he is not reaching for any panic buttons just yet.
“I saw enough good things in our last three games not to be too worried about the way things are going,” he told The Bolton News. “It doesn’t help that we’ve got Zach, Max and Gary out injured, who can all score goals, but I don’t think there is any reason to be alarmed.
“Over the last three games you look at Charlton, a good point, and a great goal from a £5million player (Ademola Lookman).
“Against Southend we should have been out of sight. I still can’t believe we didn’t win it but it was just one of those days.
“Then I thought for 35 minutes we played really well against MK Dons, we were excellent, but we were up against a good team who had endured a slow start and were always going to come good. Even still, we had chances to win in the last part of the game and I thought Sammy looked dangerous when he came on and could have scored a couple.
“I accept we had a spell where we dipped and got a bit sloppy but then we came back stronger, and I was really pleased with that. I was happy we had the character to get back on top in that game.
“We’re aware of the fact we didn’t kill those three teams off and we’ll work towards doing as the season goes along it but you have to give MK Dons in particular some credit. They are a decent side with a lot of Championship players to pick from.
“It’s difficult to control a game for 90 minutes and teams are always going to have spells in the game. It’s important when you get your spell that you capitalise and I think we’ve done okay.”
If Parkinson can clear his treatment room of all his attacking players, his options would surely be among the strongest in the division.
“We’re pleased with Zach, he’s trained all week and we’ve gradually upped what he’s been doing,” he said. “Madine hasn’t trained yet and Clayton starts running next week – so when you get those three back we’ll have lots of options.
“Obviously I am looking forward to a time when I can pick from all of them but I have been happy so far.”
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Missing Zach Clough and Max Clayton through injury for the majority of the season so far and top-scorer Gary Madine for last weekend’s draw with MK Dons, the Whites boss is reticent to criticise his side too heavily for lacking a bit of ruthlessness in recent weeks.
That was the charge levelled at Wanderers after a third successive 1-1 draw which was - arguably – gained against the toughest opponent yet faced and was also still enough to keep the club top of the League One table for another week.
As such, Parkinson and his staff were a little bemused by some of the criticism which came the Whites’ way. But with Sammy Ameobi pushing hard for his first start at the Banks’s Stadium, Clough fit again and both Keshi Anderson and Jamie Proctor already off the mark this season, he is not reaching for any panic buttons just yet.
“I saw enough good things in our last three games not to be too worried about the way things are going,” he told The Bolton News. “It doesn’t help that we’ve got Zach, Max and Gary out injured, who can all score goals, but I don’t think there is any reason to be alarmed.
“Over the last three games you look at Charlton, a good point, and a great goal from a £5million player (Ademola Lookman).
“Against Southend we should have been out of sight. I still can’t believe we didn’t win it but it was just one of those days.
“Then I thought for 35 minutes we played really well against MK Dons, we were excellent, but we were up against a good team who had endured a slow start and were always going to come good. Even still, we had chances to win in the last part of the game and I thought Sammy looked dangerous when he came on and could have scored a couple.
“I accept we had a spell where we dipped and got a bit sloppy but then we came back stronger, and I was really pleased with that. I was happy we had the character to get back on top in that game.
“We’re aware of the fact we didn’t kill those three teams off and we’ll work towards doing as the season goes along it but you have to give MK Dons in particular some credit. They are a decent side with a lot of Championship players to pick from.
“It’s difficult to control a game for 90 minutes and teams are always going to have spells in the game. It’s important when you get your spell that you capitalise and I think we’ve done okay.”
If Parkinson can clear his treatment room of all his attacking players, his options would surely be among the strongest in the division.
“We’re pleased with Zach, he’s trained all week and we’ve gradually upped what he’s been doing,” he said. “Madine hasn’t trained yet and Clayton starts running next week – so when you get those three back we’ll have lots of options.
“Obviously I am looking forward to a time when I can pick from all of them but I have been happy so far.”
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