Bolton defender Ricardo Santos says that Wanderers have ‘heart’ and will maintain a push for promotion this season.
Speaking to The Bolton News, Santos said: “People will have opinions but it has to motivate us. Personally, seeing the team every day, I think we have got that heart.
The Trotters started this season very well, winning all three of their opening League One games, before being thrashed 4-0 at home to nearby rivals Wigan Athletic on Saturday lunchtime, a defeat in which manager Ian Evatt described as a ‘humbling’.
However, Santos says that it is a ‘blessing’ that it happened this early in the season, rather than later on.
“It is probably best to happen now rather than later on, it is still early days, we have time to learn from the game and recover from it.
“Obviously there is a rivalry and we want to win this game especially, I know that, and I am disappointed it didn’t happen.
Ricardo Santos confident ahead of Burton
Santos believes, however, that Bolton will put things right when they head to Burton Albion on Saturday.
“It is never easy to go to Burton and perform, we know that,” he said.
“But we’d gone to Cheltenham – and that is a hard place to play – and won the game 3-0 and looked comfortable. I think it will be a similar game.
“We have got to make it right for ourselves and for the club.
“That’s the good thing about football, there is always another chance to pick up points. If we go there, play well, get a result, then we will feel better.
“Burton will be a hard test, they probably watched that game and think they can put one on us. We need to be ready.
“But it is a long old season so we have to put that one behind us now and go and get three points on Saturday.”