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Dion Charles has begged fans to keep pushing Wanderers all the way to Wembley.
Expectation at the University of Bolton is high with the club sitting fifth in the table and looking towards a Papa Johns Trophy semi-final against Accrington Stanley later this month.
Ian Evatt’s side will also go in as heavy favourites at home to Cheltenham Town on Saturday afternoon, the visitors without a win in five league games and just four points above the relegation zone.
After six new players were added in the January window, the pressure is now on Evatt and his side to cement a play-off spot. And Charles reckons Bolton’s fans have every right to expect the best.
“There are massive demands on the players at a club like this and, to be honest, if you are not cutting it, then someone else will just walk straight in,” he told The Bolton News.
“We have constant pressure on us. The fans expect, they want us to do well. The manager – nobody sets aims and targets like him. We can come in thinking we’d played well but he wants us to be better.
“I think it is a good environment to be in when you are winning games but still striving to get better. The fans play a big part in that because they push you all the time.”
Charles has extra competition up front in the form of new signings Vic Adeboyejo and Cameron Jerome – but with 14 goals to his name this season, is enjoying leading the line for Bolton.
“All that competition is healthy,” he said. “Once you get comfortable, that is when problems start. Competition keeps you on your toes.
“I love scoring goals – if someone else gets them, then great. I just get my head down and work.
“That’s a given when you are playing for a club like this. Fans pay good money to come and watch us up and down the country, and they like it when they see the boys running hard, wearing the shirt with some pride. I won’t ever stop doing that.
“I love playing here, and I’ll give my all when I am wearing this shirt.”
Wanderers set the target of a play-off place at the start of the season, and have stayed in the top six for all but a handful of weeks.
Charles could afford himself a smile when he learned that his former club Accrington Stanley will be the Whites’ opposition in the semi-finals of the PJT – and he sees no reason why the club cannot have success in both the league and the cup competition.
“Two trips to Wembley would be nice. That’s what I am looking forward to,” he said.
“When I saw the draw, I was pleased. I don’t think they have ever been to Wembley, so they will have that extra drive to get there. But I have got my own motivation to do well too.
“You can only take it one step at a time, though. We’ll rest up now and then get ready for Cheltenham, because that won’t be an easy game either, they always make it tough.”
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