Bolton manager Keith Hill says his team will ‘keep fighting and stick together’ after the Wanderers were beaten 2-0 by promotion-chasing Wycombe Wanderers at the University of Bolton Stadium.
The defiant manager was talking to the club’s YouTube channel after Saturday’s defeat.
He said: “It was a disappointing result but we’ve got to find crumbs of encouragement from it.
‘’Jack Hobbs came through 90 minutes and Joe Bunney came on the pitch and the lads never gave up, there’s a lot of pride underneath those shirts from those players, the effort was superb, but at times misguided in the decision making.
“We have to keep going. What else would you want to do? We have to fight for your values and for the right to be better and fight for the players’ rights to turn this period into a positive, dominant and successful period.
‘’As a family of staff and supporters, we have got to stick together and never hide. That’s the way I’ve been taught. I’ve been criticised but I’ll always be up there.”
Bolton began the game well but fell behind just before half time, via an own goal after a defensive mix-up, and a Joe Jacobson penalty doubled Wycombe’s lead in the 62nd minute.
Hill was pleased with the first-half performance, but disappointed with how the second played out.
The 50-year old said: “For the first 25 minutes, we looked more like a team, taking the game to the opposition, but once the first goal went in, we looked as though we were devoid of confidence.
‘’The ball didn’t stick up front as I expected it would do in the second half, either played through Chris O’Grady wide or Joe Dodoo and Daryl Murphy down the middle, we never got going.”
However, the Wanderers manager has confidence in the players that they can turn it around.
He added: “There’s no point me beating players up, they’re down, but I have conversations with the players all the time, it’s not for me to go in there balling and shouting.
“I don’t want them to endure the situation, I’m not offending anybody, I want them to try and enjoy and embrace it, so they become the players I know that they are, which we see everyday on the training pitch.”
Bolton’s next match is a trip to MK Dons next Saturday.