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If Wanderers can conjure their Wembley spirit then Ian Evatt gives them a great chance of getting past Barnsley in the play-off semi-finals.
Bolton walk out for their first play-off game in more than two decades this afternoon, knowing they are potentially just three results away from the Championship.
Evatt has left no stone unturned in the build-up and feels his squad is fully prepared to face a Tykes side that finished one place above them in the regular season.
The manager watched his side tear Plymouth Argyle apart at Wembley last month to clinch the Papa Johns Trophy and will be looking for performances of a similar magnitude over the next few weeks in the pursuit of yet more silverware and success.
“In one-off games we have always turned up and I expect us to do that again,” he said.
“That was a really good day for the football club and it isn’t really about going back and thinking about that, it is more about replicating that kind of performance, starting on Saturday.
“If we can get to those levels then we will be a tough team to beat.
“We are confident but there is no air of complacency. I sense a real determination to get back to Wembley.”
Wanderers expect their biggest crowd of the season at the University of Bolton Stadium, and tickets for the away leg at Oakwell on Friday sold out in a matter of minutes yesterday.
This will be Evatt’s first experience of managing in a play-off, and he believes the fixture offers some unique challenges.
“I have experience of this type of game as a player and you have to shut off the outside noise and focus on your own performance,” he said.
“We know it is a challenging game and that Barnsley are a very good team. They have had a brilliant season.
“But, for us, we can only control what we can control. I will give the players everything I can – experience, education, gameplan – but it is those guys who have to cross the white line and perform on the big stage.
“I feel there is a steely determination about them to go and do well.
“It is a strange thing in terms of it is a 180-minute football match and not 90 minutes.
“That changes a few things about our thinking within the game because we can’t win or lose on Saturday, which is a strange feeling.
“But we can put ourselves in a very good position to qualify for the final and that is what we are going to try and do.”
Wanderers will be without Gethin Jones, who has damaged his hamstring, but otherwise have a clean bill of health going into the game, with recalls expected for James Trafford, Conor Bradley, Dion Charles and Kyle Dempsey.
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