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Wanderers’ crunch clash with Burton Albion has been marked on Phil Parkinson’s calendar for some time.
Although the Bolton boss did his best to play down suggestion defeat at Forest on Saturday had ramped up the pressure on his players, a glance at the league table says otherwise.
Just 10 games ago the league placings were reversed, with Burton sitting 21st a full seven points ahead of the Whites.
Victory this weekend could give Parkinson’s men a five point advantage, completing a remarkable 14-point swing in a little over two months.
Nigel Clough’s side has won just one game in the last 13 but beat Millwall at The Den last month to prove they are no pushovers.
Frustrated at the City Ground, Parkinson is keen to keep preparation for the game as simple as possible.
“It was always going to be an important game, win, lose or draw against Forest,” he said. “We have got home games back-to-back and I’m looking forward to them, but we won’t be doing anything differently. We’ll keep preparation normal and go about our business as we usually do.
“It’s one we want to win. We know they are one of our direct rivals and a result would give us a big lift.”
Parkinson was pleased with his side’s use of the ball at Forest and believes his players are now comfortable in the system they are playing.
“That’s what happens when you can pick a consistent side,” he said. “We are working in training on getting more control of the ball in a game, and I think you could see that. We are evolving as a team.”
Although the opportunity of putting back-to-back victories passed them by at Forest, Parkinson is looking for a quick response from Wanderers in an effort to preserve a good run at home.
The Whites have taken 11 out of a possible 15 points at home since mid-October, scoring 10 goals as they dragged themselves out of the bottom three.
“We can’t let the Forest result affect confidence,” he said.
“We were the better team for large portions of that game, so we have to move on, put the game behind now us and concentrate on getting a result against Burton.”
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Although the Bolton boss did his best to play down suggestion defeat at Forest on Saturday had ramped up the pressure on his players, a glance at the league table says otherwise.
Just 10 games ago the league placings were reversed, with Burton sitting 21st a full seven points ahead of the Whites.
Victory this weekend could give Parkinson’s men a five point advantage, completing a remarkable 14-point swing in a little over two months.
Nigel Clough’s side has won just one game in the last 13 but beat Millwall at The Den last month to prove they are no pushovers.
Frustrated at the City Ground, Parkinson is keen to keep preparation for the game as simple as possible.
“It was always going to be an important game, win, lose or draw against Forest,” he said. “We have got home games back-to-back and I’m looking forward to them, but we won’t be doing anything differently. We’ll keep preparation normal and go about our business as we usually do.
“It’s one we want to win. We know they are one of our direct rivals and a result would give us a big lift.”
Parkinson was pleased with his side’s use of the ball at Forest and believes his players are now comfortable in the system they are playing.
“That’s what happens when you can pick a consistent side,” he said. “We are working in training on getting more control of the ball in a game, and I think you could see that. We are evolving as a team.”
Although the opportunity of putting back-to-back victories passed them by at Forest, Parkinson is looking for a quick response from Wanderers in an effort to preserve a good run at home.
The Whites have taken 11 out of a possible 15 points at home since mid-October, scoring 10 goals as they dragged themselves out of the bottom three.
“We can’t let the Forest result affect confidence,” he said.
“We were the better team for large portions of that game, so we have to move on, put the game behind now us and concentrate on getting a result against Burton.”
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