The players can stand the heat, says boss Dougie Freedman

Dougie Freedman is confident his players can handle the pressure as Wanderers go in search of a first Championship win of the season against Rotherham United at the Macron Stadium tonight.

The tension is growing on the terraces after another winless home game on Saturday when the Whites played out a goalless draw with Sheffield Wednesday.

The manager concedes the mood will only alter when they break their duck in the league but says his team will need a patient approach against what he expects will be a determined Millers side.

Freedman told The Bolton News: “We all have ideas of what we should be doing but as the manager I have to make sure we have a good group of players who will dig in and battle and we showed that on Saturday “If anything we were trying too hard at times going forward, but we are not far away.

“It will come when we get our first couple of wins and we are more relaxed.

“Spirits will lift when we get that first win.

“As professional players you have to cope with the pressure to get results.

“We are working hard and just need a bit of fortune.

“I thought we coped very well against what right now is proving to be a difficult strikeforce at Sheffield Wednesday.

“The first 45 minutes we were the better team but they came into it after an hour when we ran out of some legs and ideas.

“It was a good performance all-round and we took something from the game to take into tonight.”

The Millers head to Bolton for their first visit in 21 years on the back of a positive draw at Bournemouth.

And having also won away at Millwall, Freedman expects Steve Evans’ side to be compact and solid.

But he is hopeful Wanderers can get their creative players like Mark Davies on the ball more to break the visitors down.

 The Whites boss added: “I have watched them and Steve has done a fantastic job there.

“His teams are always well organised and work very hard for each other.

“They won away at Millwall and at home to Wolves and that shows their ability as a team and they have some good individuals.

“We need to make sure we match them in every department.

“You have to take every game on its merits and we will need to have that physical aspect because it will be a hard-fought game.

“We showed it on Saturday and need to do the same again.

“I believe we have the personnel to do that.

“I think they will be compact and you want your creative players to be the difference in games like this one.

“That’s why it is good to have players like Mark Davies back involved.

“But you do need a bit of patience in games like this.”

Davies and Dean Moxey both came through their respective comebacks on Saturday without any reaction and should start again tonight.

Freedman could make changes, though, for the middle match of three in eight days as he looks to keep the energy levels high throughout his team, with the likes of Medo Kamara, Neil Danns and Craig Davies in contention.

Source

“The first 45 minutes we were the better team but they came into it after an hour when we ran out of some legs and ideas."



An outright lie closely followed by a damning admission that he hasn't got them fit enough and isn't capable of changing things on the pitch to try and win the game.

I honestly think he's trying to get sacked now so he can walk away with a pay-off.

Time to go.

the fact the team was booed off at half time tells you who had the better first half Dougie.

Not sure it's about "handling the pressure". Whoever scripted this for Dougie was clearly not thinking it through as the players don't seem to be under enough pressure to win, not the other way round. Spearing seemed relaxed on his jollies and  the ambience generally doesn't come across as emanating from a team fired up to win at all costs.
They need to be feeling the pressure a bit more IMO - then we might worry about how they handle it.

If anything we were trying too hard at times going forward...

Tonight's team talk: "Same again, lads, but don't try as hard this time."

Numpty 28723 wrote:

If anything we were trying too hard at times going forward...

Tonight's team talk: "Same again, lads, but don't try as hard this time."

Trying too hard going forwards, we only had one shot?

wanderlust wrote:Not sure it's about "handling the pressure". Whoever scripted this for Dougie was clearly not thinking it through as the players don't seem to be under enough pressure to win, not the other way round. Spearing seemed relaxed on his jollies and  the ambience generally doesn't come across as emanating from a team fired up to win at all costs.
They need to be feeling the pressure a bit more IMO - then we might worry about how they handle it.

Lusty do you really believe he would let someone script his post match and other interviews? His massive ego wouldn't allow it.

Norpig wrote:

wanderlust wrote:Not sure it's about "handling the pressure". Whoever scripted this for Dougie was clearly not thinking it through as the players don't seem to be under enough pressure to win, not the other way round. Spearing seemed relaxed on his jollies and  the ambience generally doesn't come across as emanating from a team fired up to win at all costs.
They need to be feeling the pressure a bit more IMO - then we might worry about how they handle it.

Lusty do you really believe he would let someone script his post match and other interviews? His massive ego wouldn't allow it.

Of course it's written for him - it's media reporting so there will be a whole team of tosspots telling him the party line. You can tell by the structure of the article that he's been given points to make and has stuck to his task.
Everyone likely to come into contact with the media will have had media training and every interview will be thoroughly scripted.
I've done loads of radio and TV and brief Clients for media interviews as part of my role so believe me I know about message management and every word that the punters on here waste their time analysing in the mistaken belief that "Dougie said it" was actually written for him by some PR geek.

That's why I keep going on about not judging Dougie on what the media publishes and the fact that we know nothing about the man to guess what his personality is like.

When you write about "his massive ego" I'm surmising that you came to that conclusion after being duped by the media into thinking the published words were actually Dougie's and not nerd-boy's.

So these script writers will know in advance what questions radio commentators will be asking directly after the game? 
If you know any of them, could you ask them for Saturdays lottery numbers, cheers in advance.

"I've done loads of radio and TV...(etc)"

I thought I recognised your style on here:

Being behind at half time brings the boos automatically these days.

"Of course it's written for him - it's media reporting so there will be a whole team of tosspots telling him the party line. You can tell by the structure of the article that he's been given points to make and has stuck to his task.
Everyone likely to come into contact with the media will have had media training and every interview will be thoroughly scripted."


If everything is prepared and scripted for him in interviews Lusty, who was the PR genius that told him to say he wanted there to be just one chance and one goal and us to win every match 1-0. That just winds the fans up,puts people off from buying tickets and coming to watch the team and gives everyone another big stick to beat Dougie with.It makes his already strained relationship with the fans even worse. You can tell from the way we play that that really is Dougies footballing philosophy but I can't believe anybody could possibly think that should be the "party line" that Dougie comes out with in the media.

I don't think Dougie has a PR team to be honest, but I also think this 'massive ego' thing is a load of rubbish too and just another thing that's been completely invented to attack the manager with.

What I don't understand is why so many fans read the constant tripe that comes out of the club in these press conferences and think it's accurate. Pretty much every word that's said to the media is bollocks.

i presume i am allowed to have an opinion? Whenever i see his interviews he comes across to me as being very stubborn and believes his own hype. Just because you don't agree with it does not make it rubbish.

I'm just going off what's backed up by facts. If something isn't, I think it's a load of rubbish. I don't think you can accurately judge somebodies personality off a few press interviews a week, that's obvious IMO.

so i'm supposed to get to know him intimately before i can form an opinion? What a load of crap.
What facts are you on about as well? how do you know any more or less than me or anyone else on here?

Before you can form an opinion on his personality yes. 

I'm not claiming to know more than anybody else, but I don't put forward my opinions as facts and then back them up with assumptions like you.

when have i claimed anything is fact? As i already said its my opinion and mine alone based on what i've seen of him over the past 2 years, it's not a snap decision.

If you can back up your claim with any sort of evidence then I'll consider it, until then my opinion is that it's complete nonsense. We're both entitled to have a view on it.