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WANDERERS have dialled 999 in their pursuit of a Championship away victory but skipper Darren Pratley feels confident the club is not in a dire emergency just yet.
The former Swansea City midfielder missed the last time Bolton won on the road in this division back in April 2015 at Cardiff.
Since then the Whites have had a year in League One and a deluge of financial problems but since bouncing straight back to the second tier this season the travel sickness has continued unabated for Phil Parkinson’s side.
The run now stands at 37 away games without a win and should that sequence continue at Sheffield United this afternoon, would surpass 1,000 days.
Pratley insists there is no stigma, and points out there have been some close calls. But as Wanderers continue their survival fight against one of last season’s League One rivals, he admits the statistics are becoming difficult to stomach.
“It’s frustrating to hear,” he told The Bolton News, “Especially because there have been some good performances.
“The Fulham game, 90-odd minutes and winning against a good team who should be up there challenging, and that was a kick in the shins. Mentally, maybe we need to be tougher away from home?
“We don’t mind playing away from the Macron, to be honest, it’s not like we’re thinking ‘oh, no, here we go again’. You’d think it could be easier in a relegation battle because there’s less pressure to win than there might be in front of your own fans. When we get that first win, I think we’ll relax a bit. But even a point at Sheffield United would be a positive because we can’t just rely on home form to keep us up.”
Pratley is one of the most experienced heads in Parkinson’s squad, and has a long association with Bolton which has taken in some difficult times in three different divisions.
Never had the future looked less certain than two years ago at this time of year when crippling financial problems pushed one of the Football League’s founder members to the verge of extinction – taking a huge toll on the fortunes of Neil Lennon’s squad at the time.
Pratley believes the current group is better equipped to cope with a survival scrap.
“We know we’re in a battle, there’s no hiding place,” he said. “I was here when we got relegated a couple of years ago and this is a better club. The atmosphere around the place with our fans, and in the changing room, I have more belief with this squad that we will stay up.
“Everything was negative back then, with all the financial stuff, but it doesn’t seem to be there at the moment.
“We believe we can get out of it. The manager has said before that if we can stay in touch by January and then get some help, more bodies in to freshen up the squad, we can kick on.”
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/15798249.Why_Darren_Pratley_hasn__39_t_got_a_sinking_feeling_on_the_road_with_Wanderers/?ref=mrb&lp=18
The former Swansea City midfielder missed the last time Bolton won on the road in this division back in April 2015 at Cardiff.
Since then the Whites have had a year in League One and a deluge of financial problems but since bouncing straight back to the second tier this season the travel sickness has continued unabated for Phil Parkinson’s side.
The run now stands at 37 away games without a win and should that sequence continue at Sheffield United this afternoon, would surpass 1,000 days.
Pratley insists there is no stigma, and points out there have been some close calls. But as Wanderers continue their survival fight against one of last season’s League One rivals, he admits the statistics are becoming difficult to stomach.
“It’s frustrating to hear,” he told The Bolton News, “Especially because there have been some good performances.
“The Fulham game, 90-odd minutes and winning against a good team who should be up there challenging, and that was a kick in the shins. Mentally, maybe we need to be tougher away from home?
“We don’t mind playing away from the Macron, to be honest, it’s not like we’re thinking ‘oh, no, here we go again’. You’d think it could be easier in a relegation battle because there’s less pressure to win than there might be in front of your own fans. When we get that first win, I think we’ll relax a bit. But even a point at Sheffield United would be a positive because we can’t just rely on home form to keep us up.”
Pratley is one of the most experienced heads in Parkinson’s squad, and has a long association with Bolton which has taken in some difficult times in three different divisions.
Never had the future looked less certain than two years ago at this time of year when crippling financial problems pushed one of the Football League’s founder members to the verge of extinction – taking a huge toll on the fortunes of Neil Lennon’s squad at the time.
Pratley believes the current group is better equipped to cope with a survival scrap.
“We know we’re in a battle, there’s no hiding place,” he said. “I was here when we got relegated a couple of years ago and this is a better club. The atmosphere around the place with our fans, and in the changing room, I have more belief with this squad that we will stay up.
“Everything was negative back then, with all the financial stuff, but it doesn’t seem to be there at the moment.
“We believe we can get out of it. The manager has said before that if we can stay in touch by January and then get some help, more bodies in to freshen up the squad, we can kick on.”
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/15798249.Why_Darren_Pratley_hasn__39_t_got_a_sinking_feeling_on_the_road_with_Wanderers/?ref=mrb&lp=18