Manager says getting his two wingers higher up the pitch was key in home win over Fulham
Neil Lennon believes the decision to switch to a back four when a goal down against Fulham was key in turning the game on its head.
Bolton came from a goal down to defeat Fulham at Macron Stadium, with Eidur Gudjohnsen, Saidy Janko and Adam Le Fondre on the scoresheet.
And after the game the manager highlighted his belief that the decision to change tact when a goal down was the turning point in the match.
“I thought we responded superbly to going a goal down,” the manager said after the game. “We conceded a sloppy goal and had to switch things around at that point. We recognised the back three didn’t quite seem to be working for us.
“We were a little bit unsure of ourselves to start with and to be fair to Fulham they caused us a few problems early on. We needed Andrew Lonergan to make a few saves early on.
“But once we got going in the second half you could sense the confidence flowing through the whole team.
“We wanted our wide players to get in behind and break the lines and we did that this evening, particularly in the second half.
“Liam Feeney and Saidy Janko provided great width and provided attacking thrust all night - they were a real handful for Fulham.
“We were knocking on the door once we went to a back four and got our wingers higher up the pitch.
“Once we got up and running we were outstanding. We caused endless problems for Fulham and at one point you were there wondering if it was ever going to be our night.
“We’ve had a lot of new players come in - the likes of Adam Le Fondre, Barry Bannan, Saidy Janko - they’ve given the core of the squad a real lift.
“The fresh legs really helped our performance this evening. The newer players were outstanding tonight.
“On his debut, Saidy assists one and scores a wonder goal. We’d like to think he’d be happy with his evening’s work, but you never know with Saidy. He’s a really level headed lad.
“It was nice for Adam to get his goal too and that’ll get him up and running. He put in a terrific shift and thoroughly deserved his goal.”