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Phil Parkinson racks up a century of Wanderers games knowing tonight’s meeting with Millwall could be the most pressured yet.
It has been 612 days since Jay Spearing gave the Whites boss victory over Sheffield United in his first match in charge, the first small step en route to automatic promotion alongside the Blades in League One.
The night before his first official match, Parkinson had not known whether five of his new signings had been registered with the Football League in time to feature the following afternoon.
Many twists and turns followed, yet the current task of reviving his team’s fortunes with five games and avoiding relegation back to the third tier may well be his toughest.
“When I look back at all the things which were weighted against us in that game against Sheffield United, it’s quite a good example,” he told The Bolton News.
“We were in it together. It was a spirited performance, something to build on. And we need something like that again tonight. I have enjoyed working with this group and the one last year – but now is the time to start playing like we’re in a relegation scrap.
“I don’t mean be nervous. I want people who are prepared to roll up their sleeves and out-work Millwall.
“I know people will say we need more than effort. But our physical stats, when they are at their highest, correlate with winning games of football.
“We need to be ready to put in one almighty performance.”
It is another of last season’s League One alumni who provide the opposition at the Macron Stadium, with Neil Harris’s Millwall seeking to further their play-off ambitions.
The Lions’ have lost just once in 17 games since Boxing Day, conceding only 11 goals. By comparison, Wanderers chose exactly the wrong time to lose three successive games and get pulled right back into the relegation melee.
Parkinson rejected the idea that his team has run out of steam in the final stretch of the season.
"I don't think so," he said. “I don’t look around the training ground at a bunch of lads who look jaded because they have played 45 games and think ‘I have to freshen the team up.’
"Yes, they were flat on Saturday at Derby. There were a few reasons I could give, and I do wonder whether the Barnsley result had a bigger effect on us than I expected.
"Me and Steve (Parkin) have spoken about a few different thoughts on that but I am sure we have got enough energy in the squad to put it right.
“We have made changes in the past, players have given us a lift at certain times like Jem Karacan, Will Buckley and Adam Le Fondre.
“I don’t worry about a group of players who have had a season and a big cup run in their legs. We have the energy in us to finish the season well.”
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It has been 612 days since Jay Spearing gave the Whites boss victory over Sheffield United in his first match in charge, the first small step en route to automatic promotion alongside the Blades in League One.
The night before his first official match, Parkinson had not known whether five of his new signings had been registered with the Football League in time to feature the following afternoon.
Many twists and turns followed, yet the current task of reviving his team’s fortunes with five games and avoiding relegation back to the third tier may well be his toughest.
“When I look back at all the things which were weighted against us in that game against Sheffield United, it’s quite a good example,” he told The Bolton News.
“We were in it together. It was a spirited performance, something to build on. And we need something like that again tonight. I have enjoyed working with this group and the one last year – but now is the time to start playing like we’re in a relegation scrap.
“I don’t mean be nervous. I want people who are prepared to roll up their sleeves and out-work Millwall.
“I know people will say we need more than effort. But our physical stats, when they are at their highest, correlate with winning games of football.
“We need to be ready to put in one almighty performance.”
It is another of last season’s League One alumni who provide the opposition at the Macron Stadium, with Neil Harris’s Millwall seeking to further their play-off ambitions.
The Lions’ have lost just once in 17 games since Boxing Day, conceding only 11 goals. By comparison, Wanderers chose exactly the wrong time to lose three successive games and get pulled right back into the relegation melee.
Parkinson rejected the idea that his team has run out of steam in the final stretch of the season.
"I don't think so," he said. “I don’t look around the training ground at a bunch of lads who look jaded because they have played 45 games and think ‘I have to freshen the team up.’
"Yes, they were flat on Saturday at Derby. There were a few reasons I could give, and I do wonder whether the Barnsley result had a bigger effect on us than I expected.
"Me and Steve (Parkin) have spoken about a few different thoughts on that but I am sure we have got enough energy in the squad to put it right.
“We have made changes in the past, players have given us a lift at certain times like Jem Karacan, Will Buckley and Adam Le Fondre.
“I don’t worry about a group of players who have had a season and a big cup run in their legs. We have the energy in us to finish the season well.”
Source
