NO team in League One has rescued more points from losing positions than Wanderers – and growing belief in the dressing room could be a key factor in the play-off push, says Steven Schumacher.
After fighting back from 1-0 down to beat Leyton Orient on Saturday Bolton made it 20 points rescued this season, a total that can only be matched by leaders Birmingham City.
Schumacher had talked about calmness among his players at half-time as he plotted a way back into the game and explained some of the tactical changes he wanted to make.
And whereas he does not want to make a habit of conceding first – something which has occurred in each of his five games to date in all competitions – the head coach is delighted with the resilience he has seen so far.
“I think they are believing and trusting in each other, in what we are asking them to do, which is really good,” he told The Bolton News.
“Doing it once is great, then doing it twice, then once you start doing it all the time you understand it’s OK, there’s no panic. You don’t want to be a goal behind, but you have to understand how to put it right.
“That was my message to the lads at half time (against Orient). OK, they had controlled the last 10-15 minutes of the first half but so what, this is how we fix it.
“They were good with their full-backs, kept jumping really high onto our full-backs and denying us the space, so we just adjusted slightly with our shape.
“We thought we could cause them a problem in the second half, and we did. I said, don't panic, we've been in this situation before, so let's get the next goal and see where it takes us.”
???? Most points fr. losing positions (top 4 tiers; 2024/25):
2⃣0⃣: ????BOLTON*????, Birmingham
1⃣8⃣: Newcastle, Villa
1⃣7⃣: Man City, Sunderland, Sheff W, Wycombe
1⃣6⃣: Liverpool, Swindon
1⃣5⃣: Plymouth* SIX comeback victories in League One this term. #BWFC @OfficialBWFC pic.twitter.com/kEafnDNKqL
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) February 24, 2025
Wanderers go to Wrexham this weekend with a chance to break into the top six but know Phil Parkinson’s side have been strong at home this season, losing just twice in 17 games so far.
Schumacher was pleased at the way his side defended under pressure in the latter stages against Orient at the weekend and believes his players will need to roll up their sleeves again and accept there will be times where they won’t be on top.
“There has never been a game of football where you control it for 90 minutes solid and you have it all your own way, it’s just very rare,” he said.
“Orient had a 10-15 minute spell in the first half where they were better and on top but for the first half an hour I thought we were the better side.
“Second half we controlled it and went ahead but then we had to defend well, as you’d expect against a side up there like Orient are, and that is what it is going to take. There are ebbs and flows in games, especially against the top teams in this division.
“It is the small moments that are deciding results at the moment, so we just have to keep going to the next three points.
“We know Wrexham is a tough game, we have seen them up close in the Vertu Trophy where those moments were not on our side. We have got to make sure they are this time.”
