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Dougie Freedman believes his side have now developed a mental toughness that has been key to their recent form on the road.
Wanderers head to Watford tomorrow looking to make it a hat-trick of away wins following victories at Birmingham and Bournemouth.
Prior to that they ended the away rot with a battling goalless draw at Blackpool and it is a three-match unbeaten run that fills the boss with confidence ahead of the trip to Vicarage Road.
Freedman said: “Away form has been good and we are better now in the way we start games.
“We were very poor at the beginning of the season in the way we started, either conceding before of just after we had scored.
“We are in games earlier; if you look at Bournemouth we were in it and then scored to go in front. That is the key.
“Our mentality is a bit different and that has been boosted by some different personnel.
“We stay in away games longer from the start and if you are in a game that’s close, you always have a chance of winning it.
“We were never really in the previous games at Brighton, Blackburn and Forest.”
As well as the mental toughness, Freedman also thinks his side have learned to adapt to a switch in formation during games to deal with different scenarios that crop up.
And while he hinted at a possible change of system from the start against a Watford team that operates with three centre-backs and five in midfield, he says it is more important to react quickly in games and be adaptable.
He added: “I think we are a lot more flexible in how we can hurt teams than we were when we went to Watford and lost last season.
“We have more steel in midfield areas and are very good at counter-attacking away from home.
“I think we have the mentality that we can go there and get a result whereas last year, I felt we were relying on how well they played.
“As coaches we are tactically aware and have shown that in certain games where we have flipped at end of matches to see the game out.
“I think the players understand that now and are confident we can do that.
“I won’t adjust to play against a certain team but within the game we can adjust.
“We can take teams on a bit more like we have done recently at Birmingham and Bournemouth.
“We can adapt to different formations in games as well and we are building momentum away from home.
“We are more prepared to take teams on now and there is a hunger within the group now as we have seen recently and hopefully will do again at Watford.”
Freedman just hopes the two-week break for internationals does not see his team veer off track against the Hornets after a seven-game unbeaten run.
Though he admits, it has been a plus to be able to work through those different formation options on the training ground in the past fortnight since the home win against Millwall.
He said: “You go into every break with mixed feelings.
“I think the last one after we won at Birmingham was a big one because we maybe needed to keep on playing after that first win.
“But there were players who needed that break.
“I can never say it helps or hinders you.
“This particular one has helped us a bit because it has given me time on the training ground to work on different formations that may help us against Watford.
“But then the momentum we have built up could be broken – there is no right or wrong answer to whether it affects you. We will only tell tomorrow.”
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Wanderers head to Watford tomorrow looking to make it a hat-trick of away wins following victories at Birmingham and Bournemouth.
Prior to that they ended the away rot with a battling goalless draw at Blackpool and it is a three-match unbeaten run that fills the boss with confidence ahead of the trip to Vicarage Road.
Freedman said: “Away form has been good and we are better now in the way we start games.
“We were very poor at the beginning of the season in the way we started, either conceding before of just after we had scored.
“We are in games earlier; if you look at Bournemouth we were in it and then scored to go in front. That is the key.
“Our mentality is a bit different and that has been boosted by some different personnel.
“We stay in away games longer from the start and if you are in a game that’s close, you always have a chance of winning it.
“We were never really in the previous games at Brighton, Blackburn and Forest.”
As well as the mental toughness, Freedman also thinks his side have learned to adapt to a switch in formation during games to deal with different scenarios that crop up.
And while he hinted at a possible change of system from the start against a Watford team that operates with three centre-backs and five in midfield, he says it is more important to react quickly in games and be adaptable.
He added: “I think we are a lot more flexible in how we can hurt teams than we were when we went to Watford and lost last season.
“We have more steel in midfield areas and are very good at counter-attacking away from home.
“I think we have the mentality that we can go there and get a result whereas last year, I felt we were relying on how well they played.
“As coaches we are tactically aware and have shown that in certain games where we have flipped at end of matches to see the game out.
“I think the players understand that now and are confident we can do that.
“I won’t adjust to play against a certain team but within the game we can adjust.
“We can take teams on a bit more like we have done recently at Birmingham and Bournemouth.
“We can adapt to different formations in games as well and we are building momentum away from home.
“We are more prepared to take teams on now and there is a hunger within the group now as we have seen recently and hopefully will do again at Watford.”
Freedman just hopes the two-week break for internationals does not see his team veer off track against the Hornets after a seven-game unbeaten run.
Though he admits, it has been a plus to be able to work through those different formation options on the training ground in the past fortnight since the home win against Millwall.
He said: “You go into every break with mixed feelings.
“I think the last one after we won at Birmingham was a big one because we maybe needed to keep on playing after that first win.
“But there were players who needed that break.
“I can never say it helps or hinders you.
“This particular one has helped us a bit because it has given me time on the training ground to work on different formations that may help us against Watford.
“But then the momentum we have built up could be broken – there is no right or wrong answer to whether it affects you. We will only tell tomorrow.”
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