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After giving Wanderers fans a welcome, albeit slightly late, Christmas present with victory over Rotherham Phil Parkinson is challenging his players to reward their Christmas abstinence with a second straight win.
His side got their first victory since the end of September, beating Rotherham on Boxing Day and the Whites boss has set his sights on back-to-back three-pointers when they welcome Stoke City today.
And six points would not only keep them on track to get clear of the drop-zone but also be a fine prize for the rigours of the Christmas period.
“There was some relief but I was just really pleased with how we got those important three points to take us into the first game of a busy week coming up,” said Parkinson.
“It’s an obvious thing to say but it is a huge lift for everybody to get the victory and these last few days have been about freshness.
“We’ve got a few bumps and bruises, Gary O’Neil and Sammy (Ameobi) have both got a slight problem, and one or two others, the normal things which need looking at.
“We’re just looking at the next game and how Stoke play, how we’ve played and who’s fresh and ready to go again.
“We’ll weigh up our options and pick a team which is ready to go all-out to get the job done. If you look at the game at their place [a 2-0 defeat], we had the best chance before they scored then we had a goal disallowed, which was a terrible decision, and then they made it 2-0 with the last kick of the game.
“But we matched them all the way so we know we’re capable of doing that. We’ve got to make it as difficult as possible for Stoke to play.”
Six points from six ahead of the New Year’s Day trip to Hull would be a major boost for Parkinson, who has been under increasing pressure in recent months. But it is the preparation of his troops that raises his confidence when they face Stoke this afternoon.
“It would be nice to get back-to-back wins and the lads are itching to get back out there,” he added. “Our Christmas period is about making a lot of sacrifices, in terms of your preparation, the lads have done that well. While everyone else is out having a drink and staying out late you’re missing out and we want to make that count by getting some points on the board and back up what we did against Rotherham when we play Stoke.”
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His side got their first victory since the end of September, beating Rotherham on Boxing Day and the Whites boss has set his sights on back-to-back three-pointers when they welcome Stoke City today.
And six points would not only keep them on track to get clear of the drop-zone but also be a fine prize for the rigours of the Christmas period.
“There was some relief but I was just really pleased with how we got those important three points to take us into the first game of a busy week coming up,” said Parkinson.
“It’s an obvious thing to say but it is a huge lift for everybody to get the victory and these last few days have been about freshness.
“We’ve got a few bumps and bruises, Gary O’Neil and Sammy (Ameobi) have both got a slight problem, and one or two others, the normal things which need looking at.
“We’re just looking at the next game and how Stoke play, how we’ve played and who’s fresh and ready to go again.
“We’ll weigh up our options and pick a team which is ready to go all-out to get the job done. If you look at the game at their place [a 2-0 defeat], we had the best chance before they scored then we had a goal disallowed, which was a terrible decision, and then they made it 2-0 with the last kick of the game.
“But we matched them all the way so we know we’re capable of doing that. We’ve got to make it as difficult as possible for Stoke to play.”
Six points from six ahead of the New Year’s Day trip to Hull would be a major boost for Parkinson, who has been under increasing pressure in recent months. But it is the preparation of his troops that raises his confidence when they face Stoke this afternoon.
“It would be nice to get back-to-back wins and the lads are itching to get back out there,” he added. “Our Christmas period is about making a lot of sacrifices, in terms of your preparation, the lads have done that well. While everyone else is out having a drink and staying out late you’re missing out and we want to make that count by getting some points on the board and back up what we did against Rotherham when we play Stoke.”
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