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Wanderers will be equipped with everything they need for a penalty shoot-out should Friday night’s play-off semi-final go all the way.
Ian Evatt says his players are well prepared for the eventuality that the second leg at Oakwell could go into extra time, or indeed be settled from the spot.
The game is in the balance at one apiece but will no longer be decided on away goals if it finishes level after 90 or 120 minutes.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see it go that far because we’re talking about two very evenly matched teams and whoever progresses will certainly fancy their chances in the final, whoever that ends up being against,” said the Bolton boss. “We will plan for every outcome, hoping that it doesn’t go that far.”
Wanderers have been through penalty drills in a stadium environment over the past couple of weeks, as they trained on the main pitch with groundwork going on at Lostock.
Evatt feels the repetition work will stand his players in good stead, even if it is difficult to recreate the melting pot atmosphere of a play-off semi-final.
“As much as everyone says you can’t replicate it, you can still coach good technique,” he said. “That is what we have been working on.
“Like anything in life, if you repeatedly do something you get better at it. If you are practising penalty techniques then I am suggesting you improve – you might not be able to replicate the pressure but the muscle memory and the technique of striking the ball will be the same. It is just a matter of being in the right mindset to reproduce your best technique.
“We have done our homework and Chris (Markham) and his analysis team are excellent on the performance side of things.
“What will be, will be, on Friday but we will be ready.”
Wanderers will make changes to the team that drew against Barnsley, with Evatt confirming that two players had dropped out through injury. But he remains confident that his side will get stronger the longer the game goes on.
“Barnsley are a really good out-of-possession team and are well-coached but there is a limit to that energy and it is about us breaching it, making sure we work them out of possession than we did on Saturday so that there is fatigue,” he said. “Hopefully, the longer the game goes the more we come into it.
“I think we will have to weather a huge storm early on. We know what is coming.
“We know we will have to deal with the set plays, the long throws, the transitional moments, their energy and pressing, but if we get to our level we have a great chance.”
Wanderers’ 3-0 win at Barnsley in January could also offer them a boost in confidence as they head back over the Pennines in search of another positive result to claim a place at Wembley.
“That was one of the good away days this season and we have had a few of those,” he said. “I think that will spark good memories. The crowd, unfortunately, has been limited this time so we won’t have as many fans there but our ideas are the same, what we want to do, and how we did it in the first 10 minutes before the sending off, Dion (Charles) should arguably have had a penalty and a red card before the one that was given, so we’ll try and replicate that as best we can.
“I think there is a lot more to come from us. I have a huge amount of respect for Michael Duff and Barnsley, they are a really good team, but I think we need to concentrate on ourselves and make sure we get to our level.”
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