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Globe-trotter Dapo Afolayan wants to keep his feet on the ground in Wanderers’ promotion run-in.
The West Ham youngster has not been on the losing side after starting a game for Bolton, picking up and incredible 32 points out of a possible 36 when his name has been in the first XI.
Afolayan was dropped to the bench as Wanderers lost their unbeaten run at Newport on Easter Monday but Ian Evatt has been tipped to bring his lucky talisman back into the side against Harrogate, where victory could put the Whites back into the automatic slots.
With seven games remaining, Bolton fans have been totting up how many wins will be needed to secure a top three spot – something which hardly seemed possible when Evatt’s men were sat 20th at the start of February.
Afolayan refuses to look past Saturday and the chance to complete a league double over their opponents.
“As a team, promotion is our only focus,” he said. “We have closed the gap and been the most consistent team in the league over the last couple of months.
“We have been really hard to beat and going forward we have been good, but we know we can be better.
“It is always important not to get distracted by what is coming up because in life I think the hardest thing is to be present, we always tend to think about the future.
“As a squad, that is what we have been doing, we take each game as it comes, try to win it and then prepare for the next opponent.”
Afolayan’s journey to Wanderers has been an eventful one, which has included football at each end of the spectrum, at home and abroad.
The winger even had time to pick up an engineering degree during his time at West Ham – and says the experiences have helped him appreciate the good times since he signed for Bolton on loan.
“I joined Chelsea’s academy at the age of eight and was there for about six or seven years,” he said. “I left when I was 14 and went to Barnet for a year while I was doing my GCSEs because it was close to home.
“Then my family moved away to Canada so I was out there for a few years playing for Toronto FC in their junior academy side, which is like the reserves. That was really good for me.
“I came back to the UK when I was 18 and went to university and while I was there I played at Solihull Moors and then from there, West Ham.
“Playing in all of these different places, different environments, has made me who I am. It has been a big part of my development as a footballer and a person. And those experiences can only help you on the pitch and off the pitch.
“I’ve played Saturday league games where we have had to put the nets up ourselves – so going from that to playing for West Ham in the FA Cup, for example, is worlds away. But you tend to appreciate things a lot more because of that.
“The main thing is that the journey has given me an appreciation of where I am – whether that is here or at West Ham, I appreciate it.”
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The West Ham youngster has not been on the losing side after starting a game for Bolton, picking up and incredible 32 points out of a possible 36 when his name has been in the first XI.
Afolayan was dropped to the bench as Wanderers lost their unbeaten run at Newport on Easter Monday but Ian Evatt has been tipped to bring his lucky talisman back into the side against Harrogate, where victory could put the Whites back into the automatic slots.
With seven games remaining, Bolton fans have been totting up how many wins will be needed to secure a top three spot – something which hardly seemed possible when Evatt’s men were sat 20th at the start of February.
Afolayan refuses to look past Saturday and the chance to complete a league double over their opponents.
“As a team, promotion is our only focus,” he said. “We have closed the gap and been the most consistent team in the league over the last couple of months.
“We have been really hard to beat and going forward we have been good, but we know we can be better.
“It is always important not to get distracted by what is coming up because in life I think the hardest thing is to be present, we always tend to think about the future.
“As a squad, that is what we have been doing, we take each game as it comes, try to win it and then prepare for the next opponent.”
Afolayan’s journey to Wanderers has been an eventful one, which has included football at each end of the spectrum, at home and abroad.
The winger even had time to pick up an engineering degree during his time at West Ham – and says the experiences have helped him appreciate the good times since he signed for Bolton on loan.
“I joined Chelsea’s academy at the age of eight and was there for about six or seven years,” he said. “I left when I was 14 and went to Barnet for a year while I was doing my GCSEs because it was close to home.
“Then my family moved away to Canada so I was out there for a few years playing for Toronto FC in their junior academy side, which is like the reserves. That was really good for me.
“I came back to the UK when I was 18 and went to university and while I was there I played at Solihull Moors and then from there, West Ham.
“Playing in all of these different places, different environments, has made me who I am. It has been a big part of my development as a footballer and a person. And those experiences can only help you on the pitch and off the pitch.
“I’ve played Saturday league games where we have had to put the nets up ourselves – so going from that to playing for West Ham in the FA Cup, for example, is worlds away. But you tend to appreciate things a lot more because of that.
“The main thing is that the journey has given me an appreciation of where I am – whether that is here or at West Ham, I appreciate it.”
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