Mark Little - We had to put it right today

After scoring his first Bolton Wanderers goal against Barnsley on Saturday, Mark Little revealed that he had added determination going into the game after last week’s chastening defeat against Wolves.

The defender put in a man of the match performance as his goal and assist against the Tykes helped Phil Parkinson's side claim a 3-1 victory to move out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.

And having spent his youth career at Molineux, Little admitted to bwfc.co.uk after that last week's defeat to his former club drove him on to make it right today at Macron Stadium.

"I despised Wolves after last Saturday but I'll be cheering them on tomorrow against Birmingham City!" he said. "I was extremely frustrated about the result last week and I think that gave me a bit more fire in the belly to put it right today at home.

"We were on such a good run before, we only had one defeat in nine games and that is just an amazing achievement in any league. It doesn’t get recognised due to the draws in there.

"To be unbeaten for such a long period of time and to have that blip, we had to set the record straight.

"We’re not down and out, we are heading upwards just had a bit of a blip."

With this result lifting the Whites out of the relegation zone, Little stressed that the club is moving in the right direction.

"We’ve had a couple of late goals go against us and we’ve ended up bottom of the league because of it," the defender said.

"Today, it was comfortable towards the end with some great saves from Ben (Alnwick). To be winning 3-1 up with 15 minutes to go, it was a nice feeling." 

When talking about his goal and assist, Little said it was a “great feeling” and praised winger Sammy Ameobi, whose link-up play with the defender was instrumental in getting three points for Bolton.

The full back was optimistic that this was the first of many and that his partnership with the 25-year-old can flourish for the rest of the season.

"I kicked it as hard as I could into the bottom left corner and that’s as easy as it was!" Little said about his goal.

"I don’t score too many so it’s a nice feeling to have. I’ll remember that one for a long time. Hopefully get another one in the next few games.

"I enjoy playing with Sammy (Ameobi), I think we complement each other. He will help me defend and I’ll help him attack.

"He gave me the ball and left me alone today which I seem to do for him most times. Hopefully we can blossom some more and put in more good performances together." 

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