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Wanderers’ survival instincts are still intact – and Phil Parkinson is desperate to prove it against Norwich City this weekend.
After recording a shock victory at St Andrew’s on Tuesday night, Bolton face the current top two in the Championship over successive weekends.
Norwich visit the University of Bolton Stadium on Saturday looking to extend a two-point gap on Leeds United in top spot.
Parkinson maintains the fight shown against Birmingham shows relegation is not the foregone conclusion many feared – and though his next two outings could not come much tougher, he has challenged his players to raise their game again.
“That has set the standard,” he said of Tuesday night’s hard-fought win, the club’s first in the league since Boxing Day, “It shows everybody that Bolton Wanderers are alive and kicking and we must try and build on that performance this weekend against Norwich.
“A lot of people after Saturday thought we were dead and buried and couldn’t see a way out for us but we are resilient and we’ll continue to be so. We will fight to the very end.”
Injuries could once again shape Saturday’s line-up against the Canaries with a few knocks reported in the Bolton camp yesterday. Psychologically, Parkinson believes the result could help to reduce the queues for the treatment room.
“We’re feeling good about the performance, of course, but it’s a reminder of what we need to be doing more regularly to get a result,” he said.
“Gary O’Neil came off at half time with a tight calf, Marc Wilson’s hamstring tightened up but nobody made any excuses. We weren’t bemoaning our luck.
“We had to put Jason Lowe into the back three but we just rolled our sleeves up and got on with it and that is exactly what we have to do now.”
Parkinson admitted his heart was in his mouth when Che Adams broke through at the end, only to be denied by a smart save from Remi Matthews.
“It was relief because it was a very good chance. He opened it up on his right foot and you expected it to nestle in the net. It was a great save but just the determination we showed on the night.
“Craig Noone, to single him out, he ran himself into the ground for the team. He was a colossus. He was winning headers at the back stick against Lukas Jutkiewicz with two minutes to go.
“That is what is required. Full, flat-out commitment, with some quality as well and I think we played some decent football at times. But first and foremost it’s a relentless division and you can’t carry anyone out on the pitch.”
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After recording a shock victory at St Andrew’s on Tuesday night, Bolton face the current top two in the Championship over successive weekends.
Norwich visit the University of Bolton Stadium on Saturday looking to extend a two-point gap on Leeds United in top spot.
Parkinson maintains the fight shown against Birmingham shows relegation is not the foregone conclusion many feared – and though his next two outings could not come much tougher, he has challenged his players to raise their game again.
“That has set the standard,” he said of Tuesday night’s hard-fought win, the club’s first in the league since Boxing Day, “It shows everybody that Bolton Wanderers are alive and kicking and we must try and build on that performance this weekend against Norwich.
“A lot of people after Saturday thought we were dead and buried and couldn’t see a way out for us but we are resilient and we’ll continue to be so. We will fight to the very end.”
Injuries could once again shape Saturday’s line-up against the Canaries with a few knocks reported in the Bolton camp yesterday. Psychologically, Parkinson believes the result could help to reduce the queues for the treatment room.
“We’re feeling good about the performance, of course, but it’s a reminder of what we need to be doing more regularly to get a result,” he said.
“Gary O’Neil came off at half time with a tight calf, Marc Wilson’s hamstring tightened up but nobody made any excuses. We weren’t bemoaning our luck.
“We had to put Jason Lowe into the back three but we just rolled our sleeves up and got on with it and that is exactly what we have to do now.”
Parkinson admitted his heart was in his mouth when Che Adams broke through at the end, only to be denied by a smart save from Remi Matthews.
“It was relief because it was a very good chance. He opened it up on his right foot and you expected it to nestle in the net. It was a great save but just the determination we showed on the night.
“Craig Noone, to single him out, he ran himself into the ground for the team. He was a colossus. He was winning headers at the back stick against Lukas Jutkiewicz with two minutes to go.
“That is what is required. Full, flat-out commitment, with some quality as well and I think we played some decent football at times. But first and foremost it’s a relentless division and you can’t carry anyone out on the pitch.”
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