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After taking two tentative steps forward against Accrington and Wimbledon, Keith Hill knows only a return to winning ways will truly convince people that he is making progress at Wanderers.
For all the defensive improvement witnessed over the last couple of games, the Bolton boss accepts that a lack of goals is tne end result of a side now struggling to make the right decisions in the opposition third.
Bolton have scored just once in their last five games and could well be without their top-scorer, Daryl Murphy, when they take the field at Burton tonight. And that could mean the spotlight shines even stronger on Dennis Politic.
The academy graduate is less than week into his twenties and though his relative inexperience has showed at times, Hill has no doubt that he is making progress whilst learning on the job.
“It’s something that will develop with Dennis,” he told The Bolton News. “He has to learn while playing.
“We’re doing a lot of work with Dennis whether that is in the classroom or on the training pitch.
“He has to make better choices as he develops but it won’t happen overnight – it might take 20, 25, 30, 100 games. But he will become the player who can make clear footballing decisions. At the minute he’s caught between the rock and a hard place.”
He continued: “We’re relatively pleased as a group with the structure, the defensive tactics we’ve employed. We haven’t been making those silly mistakes.
“But from an attacking perspective we have to make better decisions in the final third. We attacked on Saturday but it’s about making sure the players have more clarity as they go forward because we will score more goals if we get that right.”
Saturday’s game at Wimbledon had 25 shots on goal shared between the two teams, yet just one shot actually registered on target.
Bolton have averaged just three shots on target in each of their 33 games to date. Only Luton Town in the Championship (2.9) have managed lower in all four divisions.
Hill admits he has got scope to change things around in attack after the recent return from injury for Ronan Darcy and Tottenham loanee Anthony Georgiou, both of whom made a second-half cameo at the weekend.
“It’s making sure we get that balance between the starting line-up and the finishers, as in the substitutes,” he said, reflecting on the potential for making changes at Burton. “We are losing players but we’re still in a position from Saturday where I have a few replacements in the forward areas.
“We’ve been given a programme (on Georgiou) from Tottenham on what we can and can’t do and we’ve answered it. With respect to Ronan, he’s been off the training pitch for a number of weeks now and it’s important we integrate him properly into first team action.
“It’s great to have him as a replacement or to compliment Ali Crawford.”
Hill believes his players were due some reward for the hard work they have put in on the training ground over the last few weeks. Two successive clean sheets represent fairly moderate success but he remains confident there will be reason for optimism in the future.
“It’s something to start the forward momentum and hopefully then we can start bringing some positivity to the people of Bolton,” he told The Bolton News. “It’s what we have tried to do since we came to the club.
“The initial positivity of coming in, the newness, that has evaporated, but in reality it was always a very difficult situation to overcome 12 points, the psychology of putting a team together, the new ownership, everything. There is a lot of work that has gone on at this club that has been unseen to the public eye and eventually they will start seeing the good work that has been going on.”
Burton’s play-off momentum has subsided in the last few weeks, coinciding with the sale of Northern Ireland striker Liam Boyce to Hearts.
The former Wanderers target was offered a lucrative deal at Tynecastle that Burton could not match but continue to impress Hill with the quality of football they play.
“They are a good, free-spirited side,” he said. “They do good work in the transfer market, have to sell players on a regular basis and replace.
"They probably make themselves weaker to a degree and there was a time when they looked like they were going to climb into the play-offs but I like the way they play, it’s a type of football I enjoy watching myself.”
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For all the defensive improvement witnessed over the last couple of games, the Bolton boss accepts that a lack of goals is tne end result of a side now struggling to make the right decisions in the opposition third.
Bolton have scored just once in their last five games and could well be without their top-scorer, Daryl Murphy, when they take the field at Burton tonight. And that could mean the spotlight shines even stronger on Dennis Politic.
The academy graduate is less than week into his twenties and though his relative inexperience has showed at times, Hill has no doubt that he is making progress whilst learning on the job.
“It’s something that will develop with Dennis,” he told The Bolton News. “He has to learn while playing.
“We’re doing a lot of work with Dennis whether that is in the classroom or on the training pitch.
“He has to make better choices as he develops but it won’t happen overnight – it might take 20, 25, 30, 100 games. But he will become the player who can make clear footballing decisions. At the minute he’s caught between the rock and a hard place.”
He continued: “We’re relatively pleased as a group with the structure, the defensive tactics we’ve employed. We haven’t been making those silly mistakes.
“But from an attacking perspective we have to make better decisions in the final third. We attacked on Saturday but it’s about making sure the players have more clarity as they go forward because we will score more goals if we get that right.”
Saturday’s game at Wimbledon had 25 shots on goal shared between the two teams, yet just one shot actually registered on target.
Bolton have averaged just three shots on target in each of their 33 games to date. Only Luton Town in the Championship (2.9) have managed lower in all four divisions.
Hill admits he has got scope to change things around in attack after the recent return from injury for Ronan Darcy and Tottenham loanee Anthony Georgiou, both of whom made a second-half cameo at the weekend.
“It’s making sure we get that balance between the starting line-up and the finishers, as in the substitutes,” he said, reflecting on the potential for making changes at Burton. “We are losing players but we’re still in a position from Saturday where I have a few replacements in the forward areas.
“We’ve been given a programme (on Georgiou) from Tottenham on what we can and can’t do and we’ve answered it. With respect to Ronan, he’s been off the training pitch for a number of weeks now and it’s important we integrate him properly into first team action.
“It’s great to have him as a replacement or to compliment Ali Crawford.”
Hill believes his players were due some reward for the hard work they have put in on the training ground over the last few weeks. Two successive clean sheets represent fairly moderate success but he remains confident there will be reason for optimism in the future.
“It’s something to start the forward momentum and hopefully then we can start bringing some positivity to the people of Bolton,” he told The Bolton News. “It’s what we have tried to do since we came to the club.
“The initial positivity of coming in, the newness, that has evaporated, but in reality it was always a very difficult situation to overcome 12 points, the psychology of putting a team together, the new ownership, everything. There is a lot of work that has gone on at this club that has been unseen to the public eye and eventually they will start seeing the good work that has been going on.”
Burton’s play-off momentum has subsided in the last few weeks, coinciding with the sale of Northern Ireland striker Liam Boyce to Hearts.
The former Wanderers target was offered a lucrative deal at Tynecastle that Burton could not match but continue to impress Hill with the quality of football they play.
“They are a good, free-spirited side,” he said. “They do good work in the transfer market, have to sell players on a regular basis and replace.
"They probably make themselves weaker to a degree and there was a time when they looked like they were going to climb into the play-offs but I like the way they play, it’s a type of football I enjoy watching myself.”
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