Owen Coyle looks ahead to Tuesday's next Championship fixture against Birmingham at St Andrew's
Owen Coyle has urged his players to kick-on following the win over Watford, as the Whites prepare for Tuesday’s game against Birmingham City.
Three points at the weekend elevated Wanderers up into the top half of the table, putting them within striking distance of the group of early-season frontrunners that include Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool and Brighton & Hove Albion.
After recording two wins and a draw from the opening three fixtures at the Reebok, Coyle is confident that Wanderers can now start to fashion similar positive results on the road and replicate the form shown on their travels during the back end of last season.
From the final five away matches of 2011/12, Bolton recorded eight points – a run that included two wins and two draws.
Speaking at his press gathering on Monday morning, Coyle said: “Three points were of paramount importance on Saturday and we got them on the back of some terrific football within the game.
“We also recognise that there are one or two things that we will look to do better. There have been a lot of pleasing aspects so far but we know there are also areas in which we can improve.
“We have got to understand that we are five games into a 46-match season and we are four points from where we want to be in the automatic places.
“We have to be ready for the demands of the Championship and straightaway, after winning a game, the focus is now on Birmingham.
“It’s not rocket science to see that we have played two away league matches and we have lost them both. But equally, within both of those games we could have left with points, with refereeing decisions counting against us in both.
“We had a good away record last year in relative terms to the Premier League, so we know what we are capable of doing.
“It’s going to be a tough game on Tuesday and Birmingham have some players that I know well because they played for me before.
“They have taken four points from their last two games and last season they came very close in the play-offs. Lee (Clark) has come in and has added one or two to that as well, so we are well-versed on the quality that they have.”
As for the team news, Coyle says that he expects to have a similar batch of players to select from as he did at the weekend, although he wait to check on the fitness of David Ngog.
“After the intensity that the boys played at on Saturday, we will look at things today,” Coyle added.
“David Ngog came off in the game but it was more cramp than anything else because he has been out for such a long period previously.
“I’m hoping that we can manage him properly in terms of his recovery and he will then be fit and available for the squad on Tuesday.”
If you can't make it to St Andrew's, live commentary of Tuesday's game will be available on Wanderers Player from 7.15pm. Click here for more info.