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Phil Parkinson has praised “calm heads” in his camp for getting Wanderers back to winning ways.
Concern had spread throughout the club as the Whites went seven league games without victory, slipping out of the top six for the first time this season.
But success at Swindon Town – sparked by a midweek Checkatrade Trophy win over Blackpool – has restored some composure in the camp.
Though Parkinson admitted a sense of relief his side were able to grind out three points at the County Ground, he was especially pleased at the reaction of some of his players in the second half.
“At one point you wondered if it was going to go for us,” he told The Bolton News. “When Zach Clough went clean through in the second half – and you know he’s such an accomplished finisher – but the keeper made the save, at that stage a bit of frustration creeps in.
“I looked out at the lads and you could sense for just a couple of minutes that their heads had gone down. But what I was pleased about was the reaction. They picked themselves up again, got back on the front foot.
“There are some good captains out there, we have some experienced heads who know the game, so we were able to push on and force the issue.
“It’s only natural that disappointments affect you but it’s vitally important you can come out the other side and get three points like we did against Swindon.”
Parkinson’s side have not managed to score more than a single goal in any of their last 10 games, making for some tense times on the terraces.
The manager claimed at the weekend a rout would be on the cards for someone but until his front men find regular form, he hopes the defensive element continue to hold firm.
“I’m not going to say there’s no concern that we’re not scoring goals – we had some big moments in the Swindon game, three or four one-v-one situations,” he said. “But any club is going to go through spells where their key players are not taking chances. While that is happening you have to stay strong and make sure we’re doing our job on the pitch.
“Defensively we’ve been tight and I’m happy with that – but I really believe it won’t be long before things happen at the other end of the pitch too.”
Sammy Ameobi got on the scoresheet against Blackpool a week ago but was dropped to the bench at Swindon.
His half-hour cameo in the second half helped turn the game in Wanderers’ favour and Parkinson was delighted with the winger’s reaction.
“Sammy was very unlucky not to start but we’re working really hard with him to be able to go back-to-back games,” he said. “His impact when he came on, the ball he played for young Zach, was quality and he’s got that in the final third.
“He was lifted with his goal during the week but I had a good chat with him before the game and said he had to put another good performance in when he got his chance off the bench and it was another positive for the club.”
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Concern had spread throughout the club as the Whites went seven league games without victory, slipping out of the top six for the first time this season.
But success at Swindon Town – sparked by a midweek Checkatrade Trophy win over Blackpool – has restored some composure in the camp.
Though Parkinson admitted a sense of relief his side were able to grind out three points at the County Ground, he was especially pleased at the reaction of some of his players in the second half.
“At one point you wondered if it was going to go for us,” he told The Bolton News. “When Zach Clough went clean through in the second half – and you know he’s such an accomplished finisher – but the keeper made the save, at that stage a bit of frustration creeps in.
“I looked out at the lads and you could sense for just a couple of minutes that their heads had gone down. But what I was pleased about was the reaction. They picked themselves up again, got back on the front foot.
“There are some good captains out there, we have some experienced heads who know the game, so we were able to push on and force the issue.
“It’s only natural that disappointments affect you but it’s vitally important you can come out the other side and get three points like we did against Swindon.”
Parkinson’s side have not managed to score more than a single goal in any of their last 10 games, making for some tense times on the terraces.
The manager claimed at the weekend a rout would be on the cards for someone but until his front men find regular form, he hopes the defensive element continue to hold firm.
“I’m not going to say there’s no concern that we’re not scoring goals – we had some big moments in the Swindon game, three or four one-v-one situations,” he said. “But any club is going to go through spells where their key players are not taking chances. While that is happening you have to stay strong and make sure we’re doing our job on the pitch.
“Defensively we’ve been tight and I’m happy with that – but I really believe it won’t be long before things happen at the other end of the pitch too.”
Sammy Ameobi got on the scoresheet against Blackpool a week ago but was dropped to the bench at Swindon.
His half-hour cameo in the second half helped turn the game in Wanderers’ favour and Parkinson was delighted with the winger’s reaction.
“Sammy was very unlucky not to start but we’re working really hard with him to be able to go back-to-back games,” he said. “His impact when he came on, the ball he played for young Zach, was quality and he’s got that in the final third.
“He was lifted with his goal during the week but I had a good chat with him before the game and said he had to put another good performance in when he got his chance off the bench and it was another positive for the club.”
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