STEVEN Schumacher maintains that ‘fine tuning’ can get Wanderers back on a winning run against Wigan Athletic.
After watching his side lose the last three games – something which hasn’t happened in the league since the start of 2022 – the head coach has found it difficult to be too critical of performances or the players he has put on to the pitch.
Defeats against Bristol Rovers, Stockport County and Blackpool have all produced their fair share of theoretical plus-points, if not actual points.
Indeed, statistics over the last three games suggest there has been enough pressure put on the opposition goal for a much better return.
“It’s really frustrating that we haven't had the results that we wanted, because we feel as though we've played well and created loads of chances,” Schumacher said. “From Saturday's game we had 30 crosses in one match, which is a lot.
“I think over the last three games we've had 47 shots, so that shows you that we're getting into good areas but we just haven't been clinical enough.
“Then mistakes that we've made, we have conceded goals when we are not under pressure, so that has also been frustrating.
“We have had no points, but the players are definitely putting in the effort, the work rate is there, the intensity is there, just the end product hasn't been there in the last three.”
With Wanderers dropping down to eighth spot at the weekend and all the emotion riding on the outcome of Tuesday night’s result, Schumacher appreciates that this could be a defining night in the play-off chase.
Blackpool’s win at the weekend gives them an outside chance of contesting sixth spot, and the Bolton boss believes five clubs could now be fighting for one spot in the coming weeks.
“It's really tight,” he said. “Over the last couple of weeks the teams already in the top six have picked up some good results and have created a little bit of a gap, so it is probably three or four teams who have got their eye on that last place. It’s maybe more, because there'll always be someone who comes on a late run.
“We are still in the mix. The three results that we've had lately that have gone against us could have all gone in a different way, but we find ourselves two points behind with eight games to go, so we're definitely not out of it.”
Schumacher believes he can improve Wanderers’ attacking returns with some tweaks on the training ground but there is one commodity that he cannot manufacture, and that is a bit of god fortune.
“You need some quality in your performances and you need to be clinical as well,” he said.
“But you do need a bit of luck. You need something to fall for you, something to bounce in your direction, which usually balances out over the course of a season.
“You get moments and periods where everything seems to go against you. So, whether that be decisions, or that be a bounce of a ball in a penalty box, you've just got to make sure your time comes out of it on the right side of that bit of fortune.
“At the moment, I'm not overly concerned about how we're playing. If we weren't creating chances, I spoke to Fergal (Harkin) on Sunday, I said, if we weren't creating chances, if we were running out of ideas, I would be concerned, but I showed the players again this morning some of the big moments that we had.
“So, with a little bit better detail, we could make more of these situations and find ourselves getting points that we need.”
After more than a decade waiting for a win against Wigan, Wanderers find themselves at a crucial point and looking for someone to step up and join the likes of Tony Kelly, Zach Clough and Ivan Klasnic, who have scored decisive goals against the Latics.
“These are the games that the fans remember, so we need to make sure that we're at it,” he said.
“It's an important game, it's a big game for points, but it's a huge game for rivalry and bragging rights. They've had the best of it of late, and we want to try and change that.”
