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Almost the whole of Kyle Demspey’s first year with Wanderers has been spent playing catch-up.
The combative midfielder, whose dramatic late signing from Gillingham was the talk of the last January window, has rarely had a moment in which he could honestly say he was settled.
He endured a slow start, caused chiefly by a minor injury carried which had been carried with him from Priestfield. Then after two goals against Wycombe in the opening home game of the new campaign he was again hit by a succession of minor injuries and an unfortunate suspension after a debatable red card at Cambridge United.
A goal at Barnsley on Monday represents another clean slate for the 27-year-old, who is determined to make this one count.
“The way I am, the positivity I have got, I am not going to give up,” he told The Bolton News.
“I know I have been through a tough time with injuries but I know my body and I know I shouldn’t be picking up as many as I have done.
“I have been a bit unlucky with some of the tackles I have been on the wrong end of but now it is just about performing like I did there (at Barnsley) and showing people what I can really do.
“It’s a New Year and it’s going to be a new me. Relax, play my own game, and the rest of it will take care of itself.
“I know I am a good player, I know it is in there. I just need to deliver it on a more consistent basis this year.”
The image of Dempsey finishing off a move of exquisite Champagne football at Oakwell in front of a packed away end is already will be a hard one to forget.
While the midfielder accepts he is yet to show the club’s supporters his very best form, he has been impressed by the atmosphere they have generated on the road.
“It is outstanding,” he said. “I have never played for a team where the away fans come in that sort of number and to score in front of them was just an amazing feeling.
“I was buzzing, running around for about 10 minutes just thinking about that moment. I’ll be watching it back a few times, no doubt about it.”
Wanderers will hope to generate a partisan atmosphere for the visit of Plymouth this weekend, where Dempsey hopes to carry on the momentum of the Barnsley win.
“We are confident and if we deliver what we can then I am confident we can beat anyone in League One,” he said. “That sounds cocky but it is just the quality I think we have got in this team.”
Back in the ranks on Monday were club captain Ricardo Santos and vice captain Gethin Jones, both of whom have been out of commission for a few weeks with illness and injury.
Whether the pair come back into Ian Evatt’s thoughts to start against the league leaders on Saturday remains to be seen, but Dempsey believes their presence has already had a positive effect.
“Having them back is massive for us,” he said. “Even in the dressing room, the communication and getting lads ready for games. They are big characters in the group and you want them around all the time.
“I think the quality is there in the squad, there are some really good players, but sometimes it is just about getting it right on the pitch and having guys like that around will help you do that.”
Evatt believes Dempsey has suffered in his time at Bolton from chasing a place in the team.
His regular absences from the squad has made it difficult to play without extra pressure but the Bolton boss hopes Barnsley will be a turning point.
“I am delighted for him, personally, because he has really been through the mill for us,” he said. “He has been here for nearly a year now and suffered with knocks, niggles, nothing major but stuff that has disrupted his momentum. When you get him fit, healthy and in one piece he is capable of performances like that one – energetic, gives us a different dynamic to that midfield area.
“He has been so frustrated that sometimes he tries too hard to make an impact.
“Sometimes you just naturally have to let it evolve and happen.
“I told him to relax and play and he gave us exactly what we wanted. He gave us energy, dynamism, running in behind and put pressure on the opposition.
“He is a good footballer too, and he can score goals, so I am really pleased for him.”
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