THE finishing line is coming into sight for Wanderers’ Women but Myles Smith wants no let-up on focus from his unbeaten side in the league.
Nine points clear at the top and with second-placed Penrith taking on third-placed Accrington Stanley this weekend, Bolton head to Haslingden knowing this could be a pivotal round of fixtures in the promotion race.
Accrington remain a real danger. Though 10 points behind they do have three games in hand, and like Penrith they also have to play Wanderers in the final stretch, as well as in the County Cup final at Leyland next month.
Smith’s side have dropped just two points all season and have kept ahead of their fixture list to avoid any late-season pile-ups. And he is confident that a squad that has led from the front from the very start of the season can keep their standards high.
“I'd say we seem focused,” he told The Bolton News. “This weekend's not going to be an easy game for starters. Haslingden were really, really unfortunate not to get a result against Accy recently and I watched the game.
“They are a team that has to be respected but we’ll continue to take it one step at a time. Nobody is thinking about the cup final or the last game of the season
“None of that means anything if we don't, first of all, beat Haslingden, and so on. We have to do that before getting excited – and maybe if we’re in the place we want to be in three or four weeks that excitement can kick in a little bit more.”
To add an extra touch of spice, Wanderers have just completed the signing of one of Accy’s key players, England youth midfielder Ocean Flanagan.
Having already scored against Bolton this season, Flanagan has shown first-hand what she offers and plans to bring her to the club in the summer had to be accelerated because of the interest that had developed from the leagues above.
“A lot of clubs in Tier Three and Tier Four wanted her, so we had to move fast,” Smith explained. “Thankfully we managed to get it over the line.
“There had been a few changes lately at Accrington and they changed managers about a month ago so Lucas Neill (ex-Australia international and Blackburn Rovers defender) is heading things up now.
“When she came in, we explained what we're about, explained what we're trying to do.
“She's a player that's got ambition. She's a player that wants to kick on through the league. She's got an impressive CV.
“She's been at England Schoolgirls and all the rest of it. She's someone that wants to kick on and has a lot of potential.”
Wanderers hope to get Erin Smith back before the end of the season after the defender suffered a dislocated shoulder in training but otherwise have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the Haslingden game, which will be played at the Valley Leadership Academy in Bacup on Sunday (2pm kick-off).
