Home
Jay Spearing believes the fear factor is starting to spread among sides heading to the Macron Stadium.
Wanderers’ home form has held up well this season, with just one defeat in 11 league games, and the captain reckons the recent 4-0 televised victory over Gillingham will have made rival sides sit up and take notice.
Phil Parkinson’s men welcome Shrewsbury Town on Boxing Day then league leaders Scunthorpe United on New Year’s Eve looking to stretch their impressive home run, in which they have conceded just six goals.
And Spearing has also given credit to the Bolton fans for helping make the stadium a less hospitable environment than it was in the Championship last season.
“I said in the paper right at the start that this league will come down to home form,” he told The Bolton News. “We needed to make the Macron a fortress again because it was part of what let us down last year and it’s great that teams are coming here scared, knowing they are going to have a hard game.
“The crowd is up for it, and we’ve played some great football in front of our own fans. Any team who sat and watched us against Gillingham would have taken notes.
“I don’t think it will be any different from now until the end of the season. We’ll pick up what you can away from home – but at the Macron we need to go into every game expecting maximum points.
“The fans have played a big part for us so far and I’m sure they will in the next two games because it’s a great time of year to watch football. It’s busy but going into the New Year we want to make sure we’re right in contention.”
Paul Hurst’s Shrewsbury sit 21st and have won just twice away from the Greenhous Meadow this season in League One.
Spearing says Wanderers cannot afford to look past the Shrews towards the top-of-the-table clash a few days later.
“People might look at that Scunthorpe game and say that’s the big one, but our focus is on Shrewsbury,” he told The Bolton News. “You can’t look any further ahead than your next game.
“We want to take six points from both games but nothing will be decided – there is still a long way to go. They could have a hiccup, we could, anything can happen.”
Source
Wanderers’ home form has held up well this season, with just one defeat in 11 league games, and the captain reckons the recent 4-0 televised victory over Gillingham will have made rival sides sit up and take notice.
Phil Parkinson’s men welcome Shrewsbury Town on Boxing Day then league leaders Scunthorpe United on New Year’s Eve looking to stretch their impressive home run, in which they have conceded just six goals.
And Spearing has also given credit to the Bolton fans for helping make the stadium a less hospitable environment than it was in the Championship last season.
“I said in the paper right at the start that this league will come down to home form,” he told The Bolton News. “We needed to make the Macron a fortress again because it was part of what let us down last year and it’s great that teams are coming here scared, knowing they are going to have a hard game.
“The crowd is up for it, and we’ve played some great football in front of our own fans. Any team who sat and watched us against Gillingham would have taken notes.
“I don’t think it will be any different from now until the end of the season. We’ll pick up what you can away from home – but at the Macron we need to go into every game expecting maximum points.
“The fans have played a big part for us so far and I’m sure they will in the next two games because it’s a great time of year to watch football. It’s busy but going into the New Year we want to make sure we’re right in contention.”
Paul Hurst’s Shrewsbury sit 21st and have won just twice away from the Greenhous Meadow this season in League One.
Spearing says Wanderers cannot afford to look past the Shrews towards the top-of-the-table clash a few days later.
“People might look at that Scunthorpe game and say that’s the big one, but our focus is on Shrewsbury,” he told The Bolton News. “You can’t look any further ahead than your next game.
“We want to take six points from both games but nothing will be decided – there is still a long way to go. They could have a hiccup, we could, anything can happen.”
Source