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“One big family” is how Gethin Jones described the environment at Wanderers after the support he has received following the death of his mother, Karen Jones.
The Welshman returned to action against Wigan over the weekend following a spell of compassionate leave.
Jones insists he never felt any pressure to return to the pitch but is now ready to play a part as Wanderers aim to finish strongly and climb the League One table.
“It was quite difficult to begin with, but I think the main bit for me was to stay at home with the family” he told The Bolton News.
“I can’t thank Sharon (Brittan), the board, the gaffer, the players and the fans for the support that myself and the family have had.
“I had no pressure whatsoever to come back and it was good to be back home with the family with everything that happened with my mum, but I’m ready to come back now and it was good to be back on Saturday.”
The Wanderers squad attended the funeral in support of their team-mate, and Jones says it highlights the togetherness at the club.
He added: “I did attend the game here against Plymouth. I came up and supported the lads because it was going to be a very important and big day for us, so I travelled up on the day to watch the game and I was told that day that everyone was coming down on Tuesday.
“It’s something that obviously touched us as a family but this is what our squad is all about, this is what the club’s all about. We’re a big family and if one’s hurting, like we’ve always said, we all hurt.”
Jones is now keen to make an impact on the pitch and is aiming to win as many games as possible before the end of the season.
He admits the squad were not happy with their performance in the opening half an hour at the DW Stadium, but he feels there are lots of positives to take from their response after the break.
“We were quite disappointed with the first 30 minutes on Saturday,” added Jones. “We weren’t playing our normal game plan and how we play at all and we reflected on that this morning.
“We’ve had some words in a meeting on how we want to progress to be up there more often and be more consistent.
“But obviously second half we showed what we can do and we got back into the game, and I feel like if the game had gone on another five minutes even, we would have got all three points.
“But we’ve got a never say die attitude and that’s what we’ll do from now until the end of the season.
“Football is a mad game and you never know what can happen. We have got six more important games and if we concentrate on ourselves and not concentrate on everyone else’s results, you never know what could happen.”
First up is tonight’s clash with Pompey, who are aiming to make a late push for the play-offs in the coming weeks.
Danny Cowley’s men are only above the Whites on goal difference but have a couple of games in hand on most of the sides around them.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” said Jones. Portsmouth are a big club.
“They are in the same situation as us so if they come here and win, they will be upbeat and hoping for the play-offs.
“But we will obviously concentrate on our game, work hard and we are hoping to get all three points.”
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