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Dapo Afolayan insists he isn’t worried about finishing top of the scoring charts at Wanderers, just so long as he can celebrate the end of the season with victory against Fleetwood.
Having led from the front for virtually the whole season, the former West Ham winger – now on 14 goals – is just one ahead of fellow front man Amadou Bakayoko.
The pair bickered over who would take a penalty at Cheltenham last weekend and with the race so tight for the Golden Boot, Wanderers have had to engrave two separate trophies for next week’s end of season awards, just in case.
But Afolayan has laughed off the rivalries, and is just happy to see Wanderers scoring regularly.
“We are all pulling in the same direction, really,” he told The Bolton News. “Whether it’s me top scorer, Baka, or anyone else, it doesn’t really matter.
“We haven’t made the top two positions or the play-offs and that is what we were really aiming for.
“I think there was a spell where, as a team, we were not scoring enough goals. But since January the goals have been shared out a lot more – Jon (Dadi Bodvarsson) and Dion (Charles) have got six each, I think, Baka has been up there as well, I have scored four or five since then. Even MJ (Williams) has popped up with one, so that is always a positive sign for the team.
“When you score goals from different areas and positions then you have always got a chance, you are always a threat and I think you have seen that with us this season.”
Afolayan’s rapid goalscoring rate has slowed slightly as he adjusts to a new position playing just behind the front two, prompted by a change in formation in mid-January.
And while he would like to return to the left side of the attack, Afolayan says he has picked up some valuable tips in the last few months.
“It is about learning,” he said. “This is my first professional season, yes, but I have played a lot of games at different levels, so it is taking those things and using them here.
“There is a little bit of frustration but, again, as long as the team is winning and doing well then it is not really an issue.”
Afolayan’s stats make good reading with 14 goals, four assists, and a team-high 67 chances created at 1.13 per game.
He believes he should have more goals to his name but is relaxed about all the other plaudits that have come his way this season.
“Modern football is different now and a lot is said about goals and assists but, at the end of the day, people pay to watch us entertain,” he said.
“I know goals win games and all that – but you can get an assist by rolling the ball two yards, so I don’t really look too much into it all.
“I just want to win games. I have been unlucky a few times, and I thought I was going to score with my head at Crewe, but getting goals is fine. I just take it in my stride.”
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