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Ian Evatt wants Wanderers to refocus quickly having lost out on their top target of automatic promotion in League One.
The Bolton boss admitted his side had dropped too many points in the final stretch of the season as they ended up third, five points behind Derby County and seven behind champions Portsmouth.
Evatt felt post-Christmas injuries to the likes of Nathan Baxter, Dion Charles, Ricardo Santos, Carlos Mendes Gomes, Victor Adeboyejo were a mitigating factor in the inconsistent form.
But the Whites still go into the play-offs with one defeat in a dozen games, which gives some reason for optimism going to face Barnsley at Oakwell in the semi-final first leg on Friday.
“It was disappointing to miss out and we can obviously analyse the reasons why we haven’t achieved automatic promotion,” he said after a 3-3 draw against Peterborough United.
“I’d say congratulations to Portsmouth and Derby because over the course of the season they deserve it. For us, we have had some really key injuries post-Christmas that hurt us. We managed to get results but we have drawn too many games.
“Now we are where we are. We have to refocus. There is no point looking too far ahead or dreaming about Wembley, we have to focus on the next game at Barnsley.”
Wanderers lost a 2-0 first-half lead at Peterborough but recovered a point thanks to a late effort from Cameron Jerome.
Kyle Dempsey’s header and Dion Charles’s penalty had put them in a great position just 10 minutes in but Evatt admits news that Derby were winning at home to Carlisle dulled the momentum.
He said: “It was a blistering start and that is what we wanted to do, we wanted to add some scoreboard pressure. We managed that but at half time, seeing the scores elsewhere and knowing how hard Derby are to beat once they go a goal up at home, maybe we lost a little focus and intensity.
“Against Peterborough, who are a really good team with the ball, you have to be focussed. You need to keep your discipline and I think we lost that a little bit in the second half.
“It was great that the players regathered themselves and managed not to lose and there are some valuable lessons learned should we meet them again, but for now that focus has to be on Barnsley.”
Though disappointed that the final day ‘miracle’ had not arrived, Evatt maintains that there was enough in the regular season to prove his team had made progress, and that they go to Barnsley in the play-offs for a second successive campaign as an improved team.
“I still think there are lots of positives to take this season,” he said. “We have improved our points tally, we have improved our position in the table, we have won more games, lost fewer, but at the key time of the season when we needed to go on a run we have drawn too many games. I believe it is down to the injuries we have suffered.
“If we had everyone available I believe this conversation would be a little different.
“Congratulations to the other two clubs but we’ll get ready for Friday.”
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