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Underestimate Bolton at your peril - that is the message from Accrington Stanley boss John Coleman to his players.
Wanderers are propping up the League One table after starting the season with a 12-point deduction for going into administration.
Manager Keith Hill is coming under increasing pressure having lost five on the spin, while a run of only one league win in the last 13 games has left them 20 points adrift of safety.
But although Coleman feels Hill, and assistant boss David Flitcroft, took on a tough job last August, he will have no room for sympathy come 3pm on Saturday.
For while he would love to see clubs like Bolton climb the ladder again, he does not want it to be at the expense of Stanley.
"Bolton have had their problems this season and last season and I think it was very unfortunate the way it's gone with them and Bury," he said.
"Keith Hill's had to patch together a team in a short space of time - him and Flicker.
"To win as many games as they have done, they've done well. And they're always in games. They lost 2-1 the other night (at Blackpool) when that could have gone either way.
"I think they must have an eye on next season and really kick-starting that club again.
"I've said this plenty of times in the past, I don't like to see big clubs struggling. Everyone was saying when we got promoted to League One 'it must be great to be going up against Sunderland'.
"I want to see Sunderland where they belong, which is top flight or minimum Championship, and the same applies to Bolton.
"I've been to watch Liverpool play both of those teams as a fan.
"It's the same with Ipswich and Portsmouth, you want the big clubs to thrive. They have big followings and you don't want them to be in the doldrums.
"But when you've got to play them you can't feel sorry for them, you've got to try to beat them.
"I've never been one who champions the underdog when it comes to football. I've always supported the favourite, that's why I used to get ostracised when I was younger, because I wanted Leeds and West Germany to win because I loved the way both of them played.
"I loved the way they had that desire to win, and I've always tried to model my teams on it."
Of Hill's situation, Coleman added: "It's a big job, and a big club. But clubs like that, if you can get them going on an upward momentum - whether that starts in League Two next year or they have a good run between now and the end of the season - once you get a big club going you can take them anywhere you want because you have the fanbase.
"It's difficult to go all the way up without a fanbase.
"There aren't many teams - possibly Bournemouth but even theirs has grown.
"The raw materials are there (for Bolton). Keith's a good manager, he knows what he's doing."
Source
Wanderers are propping up the League One table after starting the season with a 12-point deduction for going into administration.
Manager Keith Hill is coming under increasing pressure having lost five on the spin, while a run of only one league win in the last 13 games has left them 20 points adrift of safety.
But although Coleman feels Hill, and assistant boss David Flitcroft, took on a tough job last August, he will have no room for sympathy come 3pm on Saturday.
For while he would love to see clubs like Bolton climb the ladder again, he does not want it to be at the expense of Stanley.
"Bolton have had their problems this season and last season and I think it was very unfortunate the way it's gone with them and Bury," he said.
"Keith Hill's had to patch together a team in a short space of time - him and Flicker.
"To win as many games as they have done, they've done well. And they're always in games. They lost 2-1 the other night (at Blackpool) when that could have gone either way.
"I think they must have an eye on next season and really kick-starting that club again.
"I've said this plenty of times in the past, I don't like to see big clubs struggling. Everyone was saying when we got promoted to League One 'it must be great to be going up against Sunderland'.
"I want to see Sunderland where they belong, which is top flight or minimum Championship, and the same applies to Bolton.
"I've been to watch Liverpool play both of those teams as a fan.
"It's the same with Ipswich and Portsmouth, you want the big clubs to thrive. They have big followings and you don't want them to be in the doldrums.
"But when you've got to play them you can't feel sorry for them, you've got to try to beat them.
"I've never been one who champions the underdog when it comes to football. I've always supported the favourite, that's why I used to get ostracised when I was younger, because I wanted Leeds and West Germany to win because I loved the way both of them played.
"I loved the way they had that desire to win, and I've always tried to model my teams on it."
Of Hill's situation, Coleman added: "It's a big job, and a big club. But clubs like that, if you can get them going on an upward momentum - whether that starts in League Two next year or they have a good run between now and the end of the season - once you get a big club going you can take them anywhere you want because you have the fanbase.
"It's difficult to go all the way up without a fanbase.
"There aren't many teams - possibly Bournemouth but even theirs has grown.
"The raw materials are there (for Bolton). Keith's a good manager, he knows what he's doing."
Source
