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Phil Parkinson wants someone to write their name into Wanderers’ history books at Barnsley tomorrow.
For all the trials and tribulations since the international break, Bolton could take a huge leap towards safety by beating their closest relegation rival at Oakwell.
Parkinson has watched in envy as important goals have been scored at the top and bottom of the Championship in the last few days.
And he has pleaded with his own players to ensure they make the most of a potentially season-defining 90 minutes - just as they did at the end of last season’s promotion campaign with a memorable victory against Port Vale to keep their fate in their own hands.
“You look at the lads and I am desperate for one of them to go and save us,” Parkinson told The Bolton News. “You look around and see players coming up with those moments at crucial times – the Aston Villa goal (scored by Jack Grealish), or Lee Evans, a player I had at Bradford, scoring two great goals for Sheffield United. I just think ‘someone step up to the plate and make yourself a hero.’
“I have told the lads they need to be strong, puff out the chest, shoulders back, be ready to be the person who gets the goals, makes the assists, gets that important head on the ball or a block when you are under pressure.
“We have worked so hard to get out of the bottom three. We have to get back to that if we are going to stay out of it.”
Wanderers have lost the last four games since the international break, meaning defeat against Barnsley would drag them back into the relegation zone.
Tension has been high in recent weeks and Parkinson feels this has contributed to some of the errors in concentration which have crept into his side’s defending.
“Detail has to be right – and I have not been happy with some of the goals we have conceded,” he said.
“Sometimes they are small things but when they add up they can be crucial.
“(Against Millwall) It was almost as if desperation was creeping in when we had a set piece. I was screaming at the lads to make sure the edge of the box was right so that we didn’t get countered.
“Instead we pushed right in, trying to get the goal, and that is what killed us.
“All the situations we are in at the moment are pressured. But we have to find a way of keeping a cool, calm head.”
Source
For all the trials and tribulations since the international break, Bolton could take a huge leap towards safety by beating their closest relegation rival at Oakwell.
Parkinson has watched in envy as important goals have been scored at the top and bottom of the Championship in the last few days.
And he has pleaded with his own players to ensure they make the most of a potentially season-defining 90 minutes - just as they did at the end of last season’s promotion campaign with a memorable victory against Port Vale to keep their fate in their own hands.
“You look at the lads and I am desperate for one of them to go and save us,” Parkinson told The Bolton News. “You look around and see players coming up with those moments at crucial times – the Aston Villa goal (scored by Jack Grealish), or Lee Evans, a player I had at Bradford, scoring two great goals for Sheffield United. I just think ‘someone step up to the plate and make yourself a hero.’
“I have told the lads they need to be strong, puff out the chest, shoulders back, be ready to be the person who gets the goals, makes the assists, gets that important head on the ball or a block when you are under pressure.
“We have worked so hard to get out of the bottom three. We have to get back to that if we are going to stay out of it.”
Wanderers have lost the last four games since the international break, meaning defeat against Barnsley would drag them back into the relegation zone.
Tension has been high in recent weeks and Parkinson feels this has contributed to some of the errors in concentration which have crept into his side’s defending.
“Detail has to be right – and I have not been happy with some of the goals we have conceded,” he said.
“Sometimes they are small things but when they add up they can be crucial.
“(Against Millwall) It was almost as if desperation was creeping in when we had a set piece. I was screaming at the lads to make sure the edge of the box was right so that we didn’t get countered.
“Instead we pushed right in, trying to get the goal, and that is what killed us.
“All the situations we are in at the moment are pressured. But we have to find a way of keeping a cool, calm head.”
Source
