Ian Evatt wants more of a killer instinct to give his team the points their performances deserved after drawing a blank at Sheffield Wednesday.
Wanderers dictated for long periods at Hillsborough but couldn’t make their superiority pay.
Lee Gregory then pounced from a rare opening for the home side to give the Owls the points.
And Evatt felt a finishing touch was the only thing missing as Wanderers lost for the first time in three league games since failing to find the net against Sunderland and Rotherham.
“Sometimes in football you don’t also get what you deserve and our players didn’t get what they deserved,” said the Bolton boss.
“When you don’t win games you’ve dominated it always leaves a bit of a sour taste and today we haven’t got what we deserved.
“And that’s our own fault, not anybody else’s. We just didn’t take our chances.”
Evatt - unhappy that Wednesday defender Dominic Iorfa didn't receive a second yellow card before being replaced at half-time and Wanderers wideman Dapo Afolayan was booked for simulation - added: “It’s hard for me to criticise. The way they performed gives me immense pride again.
“To come here and dominate the game for the entire 90 minutes and after chance after chance and play that way is brilliant.
“They have changed shape to try and find a solution to stop us and they couldn’t. We were still cutting through them and still creating lots of chances but we didn’t take them.
“The performances haven’t changed really – apart from the Cambridge game when we were under par.
“Every other game we have created that many opportunities and in some games we are scoring four or five and then a game that looks exactly the same way, we are scoring nothing.
“We have to make sure we make teams pay and not let them off the hook – and we have let them off the hook today.
“For us, it’s just that ruthlessness and clinical edge we need to have in that final third.”
Wanderers missed the chance to move into the top six as Wednesday moved level on points with Evatt’s men thanks to a second win in seven league games.
But Wanderers again showed they have what it takes to compete with one of the division’s heavyweights.
And Evatt will be looking get more to show for their efforts when they take on local rivals Wigan Athletic – who slipped to third place in the table after sitting out the weekend – at the University of Bolton Stadium next Saturday.
“There were lots of positives, lots of pride from that performance and lots of good things. We will pick them back up and keep our belief and confidence. We have a big local derby next week to attack and try and go and win,” said Evatt, who will also be looking to reward the 3,000 fans who made the trip to Hillsborough.
“It was amazing again – magnificent support and I feel for them because they are probably as frustrated as I am.
“They have seen so many good things but not seen their team win. But I’m sure they’re proud of what we’re doing how their team is playing.
“There aren’t many Bolton teams that have played like that in these big stadiums in recent years.
“We will keep going. We will keep working hard, keep that positivity and connection with them and hopefully give them something to sing about next Saturday.”
Watch the manager's full post-match interview HERE