Bolton Wanderers vs Port Vale

The Wanderer | 3
They are all important to us and we want to
progress this evening to maintain our interest
and, of course, our grip on the Bristol Street
Motors Trophy.
It’s a competition that has very special memories
for us because of what we achieved last season
and, because we are Bolton Wanderers, we are
expected to win.
This fixture won’t be easy and I welcome Andy
Crosby, his staff, players and the Port Vale fans
who make the trip up tonight.
They have done very well in cup football this
season and made life difficult for us at times
when we won there in the league at the end of
September.
We will have to deal with the questions they ask of
us and then look to bring our qualities to the
fore to hopefully record another win and
make it into the last 16 in January.
We already have one cup tie to look
forward to early next year after
reaching the third round of the
FA Cup. Make no mistake, I was
really pleased with Saturday’s
win over Harrogate and
the fact we progressed –
something the Club hasn’t
done very often in recent
years.
I said afterwards that overall the
performance was just okay, purely
because of the standards the players
have been setting themselves. We
were a little slack in dealing with their
transitions and counter-attacks at
times and disappointed with the way
we conceded the goal to miss out on
the chance of the outright record for
clean sheets.
I also felt we could have gone on
and scored more goals – as we
did against Exeter. But when we’re
picking holes in a 5-1 win, it’s a
pretty good place to be. It’s the
players who have raised the bar as
DOING WELL IN
THE LEAGUE IS OUR
UNDOUBTED PRIORITY
BUT WE WANT TO
DO WELL IN THE CUP
COMPETITIONS AS WELL
high as it is so if they do dip below on occasions, I
will tell them.
The win over Harrogate has earned us a trip to
Luton Town in round three. It’s a tough tie against
Premier League opposition but one we will relish
when it gets here.
We want to test ourselves against top-class
opposition and this gives us the chance
to do that. I will also look forward
to taking on Rob Edwards, their
manager who is a good friend and
former team-mate of mine from our
Blackpool days.
It’s a busy time but we’re not
complaining at the fixture list. Doing
well in the league is our undoubted
priority but we want to do well in
the cup competitions as well – and
I believe we have the strength and
quality in the squad to do so.
Plymouth and Rotherham have proved
in the last couple of seasons that it is
possible to go to Wembley in the EFL
Trophy and win promotion as well. It is
doable so as long as that is a possibility,
we will be striving for both.
Your support remains vital every step
of the way so thanks again for your
continued backing and enjoy the
game tonight.
Ian