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Defeat on Teesside has left Dougie Freedman craving some home comforts.
No sooner had the Wanderers boss seen his side’s unbeaten run come to a juddering halt at Middlesbrough but he was planning ahead for the next Reebok double-header.
Huddersfield Town and Doncaster Rovers come to town within five days of each other in a run of games that Freedman believes should reveal a lot more about his team and their promotion chances.
“They are crucial in as much as we need to bounce back from our first defeat in eight,” he told The Bolton News. “We haven’t really known what it’s like to lose over the last couple of months, so that is the crucial thing.
“Are we going to assert ourselves? Are we going to try and control the game through our passing? Can we put our body on the line when the ball comes into the box? These are the interesting things and when we get through these two games I’ll be able to better tell you how we’ll get through the rest of the season.”
Wanderers picked up their first home win of the season against Millwall a few weeks ago – a performance that Freedman reckons looks better on re-examination.
And while Boro edged a tight game to give Aitor Karanka a happy first home game in charge, Freedman is confident that there has been no long term damage done.
“I am not putting too much on this result,” he said. “The margins are very, very fine. We’ll see at the end of the season where we are, and where they are.
“I feel very confident that we’ll improve our home form and pick a lot of points up. I’m looking forward to a positive reaction.
“Our season will not depend on what has happened today. We’ve lost a point because I didn’t think we were good enough.
“Our season has got to start on Tuesday night at the Reebok and will be based on home form because our performances have been good enough but the results have needed to pick up a bit.
“That is what our season is going to rely on and when I think about it, I’m very comfortable.”
Freedman thought Wanderers had done enough to warrant a point at Middlesbrough but rejected the suggestion that they had approached the game in a negative manner.
“In the second half we started to grab possession back, we got a couple of chances to score, it was just such an even game,” he said.
“That is what the Championship is. You are sitting here away from home thinking ‘we’re quite comfortable’.
“They have made the substitutions trying to get into the game.
“Could we have done more? Not really. I think we did enough to get a point and on another day you get three.
“I can’t get too up and down on these results.”
Source
No sooner had the Wanderers boss seen his side’s unbeaten run come to a juddering halt at Middlesbrough but he was planning ahead for the next Reebok double-header.
Huddersfield Town and Doncaster Rovers come to town within five days of each other in a run of games that Freedman believes should reveal a lot more about his team and their promotion chances.
“They are crucial in as much as we need to bounce back from our first defeat in eight,” he told The Bolton News. “We haven’t really known what it’s like to lose over the last couple of months, so that is the crucial thing.
“Are we going to assert ourselves? Are we going to try and control the game through our passing? Can we put our body on the line when the ball comes into the box? These are the interesting things and when we get through these two games I’ll be able to better tell you how we’ll get through the rest of the season.”
Wanderers picked up their first home win of the season against Millwall a few weeks ago – a performance that Freedman reckons looks better on re-examination.
And while Boro edged a tight game to give Aitor Karanka a happy first home game in charge, Freedman is confident that there has been no long term damage done.
“I am not putting too much on this result,” he said. “The margins are very, very fine. We’ll see at the end of the season where we are, and where they are.
“I feel very confident that we’ll improve our home form and pick a lot of points up. I’m looking forward to a positive reaction.
“Our season will not depend on what has happened today. We’ve lost a point because I didn’t think we were good enough.
“Our season has got to start on Tuesday night at the Reebok and will be based on home form because our performances have been good enough but the results have needed to pick up a bit.
“That is what our season is going to rely on and when I think about it, I’m very comfortable.”
Freedman thought Wanderers had done enough to warrant a point at Middlesbrough but rejected the suggestion that they had approached the game in a negative manner.
“In the second half we started to grab possession back, we got a couple of chances to score, it was just such an even game,” he said.
“That is what the Championship is. You are sitting here away from home thinking ‘we’re quite comfortable’.
“They have made the substitutions trying to get into the game.
“Could we have done more? Not really. I think we did enough to get a point and on another day you get three.
“I can’t get too up and down on these results.”
Source