Shrewsbury boss Gareth Ainsworth admits it is hard to know what to expect from Wanderers this weekend.
Steven Schumacher has taken charge of three games since becoming the new head coach and Bolton have demonstrated their flexibility between different tactical setups.
But Ainsworth hopes his Salop side can make it “tough” for the Whites this weekend and build on their recent form in League One.
“It’s difficult because he has played a couple of formations,” he " target="_blank" class="link"> told the club channels. “He had a certain style of real identity at Plymouth.
“He is a great guy, we are all in the LMA (League Managers Association) together and all the managers chat. There is not much animosity between managers and we are all rooting for each other when we are out of work.
“When we are back in work, we are against each other at times. He will know that all I want is the points on Saturday and we’ll make it tough.
“But I know they have got some fantastic players. They have recruited a lot of players over the last few years, paid some big money for their players – and rightly so. They are an ex-Premier League club with a huge fanbase, some big resources.
“But Shrewsbury Town is not an easy place to come. We will make it hard for them and you never know what will happen.”
Shrewsbury enter the game in high spirits, having taken seven points from their last three games as they aim to pull off a great escape.
It was nearly three successive victories but Ainsworth’s side had to settle for a point at Reading on Tuesday night, with Joel Pereira saving a spot kick from John Marquis.
“The last three games, seven points, we definitely would have taken that,” the head coach added. “It was a great performance again, I thought we were the better team.
“I am always on performance, winning is a by-product of everything we do. We could have had more quality in the final third, without a doubt, and we will work on that.
“But working on that is so much better than working on conceding lots of goals and making us more solid.
“We started neglecting going forward a little bit because we were trying to be solid, and now we are getting the package where hopefully people are seeing what I bring.”
Leo Castledine has missed the last few games through injury, and Ainsworth says the Chelsea loanee will not be rushed back.
“It is great that the boys are performing so well, we can just give him that little bit of time,” he explained. “Sometimes as a young man, we have just got to pull him out of the team.
“It is crazy the amount of games they play at such a young age. I know him well, I know his dad really well. Let’s just let him recover, he played a heck of a lot of games in one stint.
“Between Chelsea and my medical staff, he is in really good hands and I am sure we will be seeing Leo pretty soon. But at the moment, it is great there is no absolute desperation.”
