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Wanderers must keep a positive frame of mind in what could be a pivotal week for their play-off hopes, says midfielder Aaron Morley.
With third-placed Ipswich Town to visit the University of Bolton Stadium on Saturday, Ian Evatt has instructed his squad shake-off any lingering disappointment from a frustrating goalless draw at Morecambe and focus on the big picture ahead.
March holds three big league games – crucially separated by spells of preparation and rest – before the Papa Johns Trophy final against Plymouth at the start of Wembley.
And while automatic promotion hopes now look slim in the extreme, Morley believes there is more than enough left to play for this season to ensure an upbeat mood for this weekend’s game.
“It’s exciting – and these are the games you want to play in,” he told The Bolton News.
“We just have to go week by week, game by game, and by the end of it, hopefully we’ll have reached the play-offs and have that chance to go up.
“The manager has just told us to keep our heads up and keep positive. Morecambe can be a good point on the board and we’re still in it. We can go again Saturday now.
“All the boys have missed being able to train together properly and being able to get a proper rest. So hopefully this will be a big week for us.”
Within the camp, the opportunity to gather and compose thoughts at Lostock for a few days before the Ipswich game is being seen as a major boost.
The game at Morecambe was Bolton’s eighth in 28 days, which meant most of their tactical preparation was done visually, rather than out on the pitch itself.
Evatt hinted that the lack of time he had been able to work with his players was a telling factor in the stalemate at the Mazuma Stadium and Morley believes being able to avoid the team bus for a week will also be a benefit too.
“We don’t really train when we have a Saturday-Tuesday game because we are recovering Monday, off Wednesday and recovering Thursday. You only get a day on the grass together so it can be hard, travelling all the time,” he said.
“The games come thick and fast but we need to put some performances in. Playing Saturday to Saturday could be really important for us now to get some time together, it will be a good month for us.”
The result at Morecambe left Bolton some way off the automatic places but, crucially, still nine points ahead of seventh-placed Wycombe who also have three games in hand. The Whites also have a much better difference than the Chairboys, who host Fleetwood at Adams Park this weekend.
Morley felt disappointed not to come away from the game with another victory in hand.
“I think we did enough to win the game but in the end it was a good point, so we’ll move on to the next one,” he said.
“It was just that extra pass, the extra shot. It was a tough one – the shots were there to take but maybe we made the wrong decision at times.”
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