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Clean sheet specialist Phil Parkinson believes he’s in the right place to continue his enviable defensive record.
Not many managers in the Football League have shown they can fine-tune a back five quite like the Wanderers boss in the last couple of years.
In his previous 100 games in the dugout at Bradford City and Wanderers, Parkinson has presided over 42 clean sheets.
To put it into context, that is two shy of Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich and Manchester City, exactly the same number as Arsene Wenger at Arsenal and four more than Jose Mourinho at Manchester United and Chelsea.
It is even five more than Graham Alexander, the man who statistically-speaking is the Football League’s most successful manager at present in charge of League One leaders Scunthorpe United.
Parkinson is keen to lay praise at the feet of his players but believes at Wanderers he has a group who are designed to defend their penalty area under pressure.
“To get clean sheets you need people to put their bodies on the line,” he told The Bolton News. “I do highlight that in training and when we do work on the DVDs etc.
“The Bolton fans want to see a side that rolls up its sleeves for a win. That side of the game was great against Coventry – if there was a cross to be stopped, someone was there, or if someone was winding up for a shot, someone came out to close them down.
“If anything got through, Ben Alnwick had a good game and pulled off a couple of very good saves. You need that, you really do.
“English football was known for big-hearted players and it might be a dying art in some respects but I feel we have got it here. We have to keep showing it.”
The shut-out, to borrow an American term, against Coventry was Parkinson’s 10th in 24 games in charge of Bolton in all competitions.
That ratio is slightly behind what he achieved at Valley Parade, where after five years in charge he had fashioned a strong defensive unit over time.
Considering the disarray at Wanderers as they dropped out of the Championship with all the associated financial problems, to have turned round a squad’s mentality in such a short space of time is indeed impressive - and Parkinson hopes it continues in the club’s first-ever trip to Sixfields, Northampton tomorrow.
“You have to have the right characters about the place, leaders, and at a time when a lot of manager moan there are not enough in the game – I have said before, we have a lot,” he said.
“Of course we pride ourselves in being organised and detailed in our organisation, so that does help, but it comes down to how the players react at the end of the day.
“We are really pleased with the response we’re getting from the players but they are learning all the time.
“Against Coventry we finished up with a clean sheet but started that second half slowly. We didn’t get punished for it but on another night we might have. We have to make sure our mentality stays strong. It can’t drop.”
Tomorrow, Wanderers come up against a Northampton side beaten by a typically-resolute Bradford 1-0 in midweek.
The Bantams, Sheffield United and Scunthorpe all stepped up under pressure and, along with the Whites, have opened up a five-point gap on the teams below the in the League One table.
This, believes Parkinson, is the time of year where the cream rises – or stays – to the top. And he is confident his own players have the mental resolve to stay in the leading pack.
“I think at this time of year you come off the pitch and invariably find out that the teams at the top have won,” he said.
“It’s competitive and Scunthorpe are setting the pace. We’re hanging on to their shirt tails and we’re on a terrific run ourselves, I’m pleased with the spirit shown by the players.
“We have had a couple of disruptions in the last couple of weeks but we’ve worked our way through them and kept winning games.”
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Not many managers in the Football League have shown they can fine-tune a back five quite like the Wanderers boss in the last couple of years.
In his previous 100 games in the dugout at Bradford City and Wanderers, Parkinson has presided over 42 clean sheets.
To put it into context, that is two shy of Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich and Manchester City, exactly the same number as Arsene Wenger at Arsenal and four more than Jose Mourinho at Manchester United and Chelsea.
It is even five more than Graham Alexander, the man who statistically-speaking is the Football League’s most successful manager at present in charge of League One leaders Scunthorpe United.
Parkinson is keen to lay praise at the feet of his players but believes at Wanderers he has a group who are designed to defend their penalty area under pressure.
“To get clean sheets you need people to put their bodies on the line,” he told The Bolton News. “I do highlight that in training and when we do work on the DVDs etc.
“The Bolton fans want to see a side that rolls up its sleeves for a win. That side of the game was great against Coventry – if there was a cross to be stopped, someone was there, or if someone was winding up for a shot, someone came out to close them down.
“If anything got through, Ben Alnwick had a good game and pulled off a couple of very good saves. You need that, you really do.
“English football was known for big-hearted players and it might be a dying art in some respects but I feel we have got it here. We have to keep showing it.”
The shut-out, to borrow an American term, against Coventry was Parkinson’s 10th in 24 games in charge of Bolton in all competitions.
That ratio is slightly behind what he achieved at Valley Parade, where after five years in charge he had fashioned a strong defensive unit over time.
Considering the disarray at Wanderers as they dropped out of the Championship with all the associated financial problems, to have turned round a squad’s mentality in such a short space of time is indeed impressive - and Parkinson hopes it continues in the club’s first-ever trip to Sixfields, Northampton tomorrow.
“You have to have the right characters about the place, leaders, and at a time when a lot of manager moan there are not enough in the game – I have said before, we have a lot,” he said.
“Of course we pride ourselves in being organised and detailed in our organisation, so that does help, but it comes down to how the players react at the end of the day.
“We are really pleased with the response we’re getting from the players but they are learning all the time.
“Against Coventry we finished up with a clean sheet but started that second half slowly. We didn’t get punished for it but on another night we might have. We have to make sure our mentality stays strong. It can’t drop.”
Tomorrow, Wanderers come up against a Northampton side beaten by a typically-resolute Bradford 1-0 in midweek.
The Bantams, Sheffield United and Scunthorpe all stepped up under pressure and, along with the Whites, have opened up a five-point gap on the teams below the in the League One table.
This, believes Parkinson, is the time of year where the cream rises – or stays – to the top. And he is confident his own players have the mental resolve to stay in the leading pack.
“I think at this time of year you come off the pitch and invariably find out that the teams at the top have won,” he said.
“It’s competitive and Scunthorpe are setting the pace. We’re hanging on to their shirt tails and we’re on a terrific run ourselves, I’m pleased with the spirit shown by the players.
“We have had a couple of disruptions in the last couple of weeks but we’ve worked our way through them and kept winning games.”
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