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Dion Charles hopes the midweek goal glut against Crewe will be good news for Wanderers’ attacking frustrations this season.
The Northern Ireland international has grabbed three goals in the cup competitions since returning from a thigh injury, including a brace in the Papa Johns Trophy on Tuesday night.
It has been slim pickings for all Bolton’s strikers in the league, however, with no goals for Charles, Dapo Afolayan, Amadou Bakayoko, Jon Dadi Bodvarsson or Elias Kachunga in the opening six games.
Wanderers’ ruthlessness in front of goal came under particular scrutiny in last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at Plymouth Argyle but Charles feels that the comfortable win against Crewe might have blown away some of the cobwebs.
“As a striker at this club you always want to score goals,” he said. “I have got three in two games now and just come back from injury so I am quite pleased at the moment.
“I might have had a hat-trick as well but their keeper kept them in the game in the second half where we had some great chances. They were point-blank saves, so credit to him.
“Results haven’t been great for us recently but we need to play like we did there (against Crewe) with a bit of freedom, be forward thinking, and create chances for the strikers because then it is up to us to stick them in the net.
“Some of their team was shouting to the referee asking how much longer to play but I didn’t care – I said you can go in when I got my hat-trick! I didn’t want the game to stop.
“It was a good confidence boost for us. Strikers love scoring goals so now I will look forward to Saturday and trying to get more.”
Charles had to watch from the side-lines after picking up an injury in the first week of the season but returned against Sheffield Wednesday looking sharp.
In his absence Bolton’s attack struggled to fire consistently but the former Accrington Stanley man insists his team-mates will play themselves into scoring form soon.
“As a person I want to play every game I can, so to pick up the injuries isn’t great,” he said.
“I think the lads did well while I was away but I am back now and it is time for me to kick on and start scoring goals as well.
“In this team we want the best for every lad. If your luck isn’t in, it isn’t in. Sometimes it doesn’t take away from whatever else they give to the team, we all win and lose together and we all work hard, so there’s a good camaraderie between us.
“It has just been rub of the green, I think. A bit unlucky.
“You look at Baka’s chance on Saturday. It came off him and the keeper made a save, he probably doesn’t know how it hasn’t gone in. Instead it hits the post and then rolls to one of their players but on another it hits the back of the net.
“We all stick together, nobody gets dug out. You just have to move on to the next game.”
Charlton are next up for Wanderers, another of the sides in this division with short-term aspirations to return to the Championship.
The Whites have struggled to take points off their perceived promotion rivals both this season and last – and Charles believes getting on the right side of the “fine margins” is an important target.
“You go back to the Villa game, Premier League opposition, and they had similar number of chances to us but they took them towards the end and that is the difference,” he said.
“We have been a bit unlucky recently where teams we have played have taken their chances. It is difficult to take but you have to work hard to put things right.
“We are all in the team to do our job. You saw when we played against Villa we’d worked really hard for 65 minutes and then they brought players off the bench to change the game. We did the same thing (against Crewe) bringing on fresh legs and then dominated the game.
“Charlton will be a tough game, we know that from last year, but we have enough in there to beat anyone on our day.”
Charles is also delighted to see his international colleague Connor Bradley make such a successful start to his time at Bolton.
“I told the gaffer we should definitely try and sign him,” he said.
“He can go as far as he wants that kid. He is a top lad and he has got the character where he works hard every day to get better. He has all the tools.
“He is grounded as well, great around the dressing room. He will go far."
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