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Joe Dodoo doesn’t care how pretty Wanderers look at Sunderland on Boxing Day – just as long as they take three points.
After edging a scrappy game against Southend on Saturday, Bolton head to the Stadium of Light looking to get off the foot of the table for the first time this season.
Dodoo would gladly be part of another untidy performance if it guaranteed victory.
“Three points was the most important thing against Southend,” he told The Bolton News. “I just want to win, I don’t care how.
“If you win ugly you can go back to the drawing board and figure out how to improve but you do it with three points in your hand.
“If you lose, the chance is gone. There’s no concessions. It will be no different at Sunderland.”
After waiting eight games for his first goal in a Bolton shirt, the former Rangers and Leicester striker has now scored twice in his last three starts.
Dodoo has rarely featured through the middle of Wanderers’ attack but feels he is capable of adding goals from the wing.
“I have been praying for chances playing out wide, and when I get them I can be clinical,” he told The Bolton News.
“As an attacker you just need that first one to drop for you; it’s always the hardest one.
“I have been training hard to make sure that I can get on a roll.”
Wanderers will be heavy underdogs at Sunderland despite Phil Parkinson’s side failing to win a game in any competition in their previous eight attempts.
Victory could see them conceivably climb above Southend United and off the foot of the table for the first time this season – not to mention piling more pressure on their former manager’s shoulders.
A partisan festive atmosphere is expected on Wearside but Dodoo believes Wanderers will build on the Southend victory if they keep their cool.
“Honestly, big atmospheres and crowds has never worried me,” he said. “I don’t pay attention. I don’t think the lads will worry about it, either.
“When you play up at Rangers you can’t hear anything but noise. You don’t have time to examine what is going on around you.
“You have to try and focus on what you are there to do, what you have worked on in training, don’t lose that.
“We go into every game with the same sort of plan – press high, work hard, dominate and win. We are together, we know the objective and we’re focussed on achieving them.
“We got the three points against Southend and now have to put the plan into practice.”
Wanderers will prepare for the Sunderland game on Christmas Day before spending some time with their families and then meeting up to travel.
“It’s a busy period, you have to prepare right,” Dodoo said.
“We’ll be training Christmas Day and you can still get a bit of food, just not the extras that go with it.
“With experience you know how to handle it, you want to get to the game in the right shape with the best chance of performing. You have to be professional.
“I always say just getting time to spend with your family is enough. To be with them around Christmas is special, so I don’t mind missing out on the perks that come with it.”
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After edging a scrappy game against Southend on Saturday, Bolton head to the Stadium of Light looking to get off the foot of the table for the first time this season.
Dodoo would gladly be part of another untidy performance if it guaranteed victory.
“Three points was the most important thing against Southend,” he told The Bolton News. “I just want to win, I don’t care how.
“If you win ugly you can go back to the drawing board and figure out how to improve but you do it with three points in your hand.
“If you lose, the chance is gone. There’s no concessions. It will be no different at Sunderland.”
After waiting eight games for his first goal in a Bolton shirt, the former Rangers and Leicester striker has now scored twice in his last three starts.
Dodoo has rarely featured through the middle of Wanderers’ attack but feels he is capable of adding goals from the wing.
“I have been praying for chances playing out wide, and when I get them I can be clinical,” he told The Bolton News.
“As an attacker you just need that first one to drop for you; it’s always the hardest one.
“I have been training hard to make sure that I can get on a roll.”
Wanderers will be heavy underdogs at Sunderland despite Phil Parkinson’s side failing to win a game in any competition in their previous eight attempts.
Victory could see them conceivably climb above Southend United and off the foot of the table for the first time this season – not to mention piling more pressure on their former manager’s shoulders.
A partisan festive atmosphere is expected on Wearside but Dodoo believes Wanderers will build on the Southend victory if they keep their cool.
“Honestly, big atmospheres and crowds has never worried me,” he said. “I don’t pay attention. I don’t think the lads will worry about it, either.
“When you play up at Rangers you can’t hear anything but noise. You don’t have time to examine what is going on around you.
“You have to try and focus on what you are there to do, what you have worked on in training, don’t lose that.
“We go into every game with the same sort of plan – press high, work hard, dominate and win. We are together, we know the objective and we’re focussed on achieving them.
“We got the three points against Southend and now have to put the plan into practice.”
Wanderers will prepare for the Sunderland game on Christmas Day before spending some time with their families and then meeting up to travel.
“It’s a busy period, you have to prepare right,” Dodoo said.
“We’ll be training Christmas Day and you can still get a bit of food, just not the extras that go with it.
“With experience you know how to handle it, you want to get to the game in the right shape with the best chance of performing. You have to be professional.
“I always say just getting time to spend with your family is enough. To be with them around Christmas is special, so I don’t mind missing out on the perks that come with it.”
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