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Fear of falling into the Championship's bottom three is motivating David Wheater and others in the Wanderers camp ahead of this weekend's clash with Swansea City.
The Bolton skipper admits home fans are owed a big performance after bright start to the season faded fast, leaving the club hovering just over the relegation zone.
Wheater is well aware of the potential ramifications of defeat - but he feels the dressing room is ready to answer its critics with a strong performance against a team who were plying their trade in the top flight just five months ago.
"Swansea are a good team, obviously, with players who played Premier League but we know what's at stake," he told The Bolton News.
"Three points would be fantastic and we could go up a few places as well because it's so tight in table. But we could be in the bottom three as well, if we're being honest, and nobody wants that.
"Hopefully it doesn't get to that, we can put in a good performance, get the crowd back on our side and push on after the international break."
Home form has been frustratingly inconsistent this season for the Whites, with victories over Derby County and Birmingham City interspersed with pallid performances against QPR, Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest.
As such, the brunt of criticism aimed at management and players has been at the University of Bolton Stadium but with Sammy Ameobi likely to return to contention after an ankle injury, Wheater is upbeat about the chances of a positive result.
"We need to turn up at home, don't we?" he said. "It's been up and down - even when you look back to Bristol City, we should have beaten them.
"We can hardly complain. The pitch is probably one of the best in the division, the fans are always fantastic with us, so it's all down to us. How we do is down to how we perform.
"Sammy might be back - that'll lift everyone, the fans, the players, because we know he can spark something. Any bit of luck we'll take it."
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The Bolton skipper admits home fans are owed a big performance after bright start to the season faded fast, leaving the club hovering just over the relegation zone.
Wheater is well aware of the potential ramifications of defeat - but he feels the dressing room is ready to answer its critics with a strong performance against a team who were plying their trade in the top flight just five months ago.
"Swansea are a good team, obviously, with players who played Premier League but we know what's at stake," he told The Bolton News.
"Three points would be fantastic and we could go up a few places as well because it's so tight in table. But we could be in the bottom three as well, if we're being honest, and nobody wants that.
"Hopefully it doesn't get to that, we can put in a good performance, get the crowd back on our side and push on after the international break."
Home form has been frustratingly inconsistent this season for the Whites, with victories over Derby County and Birmingham City interspersed with pallid performances against QPR, Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest.
As such, the brunt of criticism aimed at management and players has been at the University of Bolton Stadium but with Sammy Ameobi likely to return to contention after an ankle injury, Wheater is upbeat about the chances of a positive result.
"We need to turn up at home, don't we?" he said. "It's been up and down - even when you look back to Bristol City, we should have beaten them.
"We can hardly complain. The pitch is probably one of the best in the division, the fans are always fantastic with us, so it's all down to us. How we do is down to how we perform.
"Sammy might be back - that'll lift everyone, the fans, the players, because we know he can spark something. Any bit of luck we'll take it."
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