Ian Evatt insists Wanderers must be geared up to play the long game as they look to deliver on their promotion challenge, writes Pete Oliver.
The Whites resume their League One campaign at home to Mansfield Town on Tuesday night sitting outside the play-off places on goal difference.
An impressive return of 23 points from the last 11 games – a run which has brought just two league defeats – has lifted Wanderers into contention following an indifferent start to the season.
And with two thirds of the campaign still to go, Evatt believes a continued upturn in fortune will ultimately pay dividends as his side looks to narrow the gap on the top two.
“The perception is probably that we've been poor so far this season,” said the Wanderers’ boss ahead of the meeting with the 10th-placed Stags. “We know that we haven't got to our best levels, there's no denying that. But we've been on a pretty decent run.
“Our points’ return has showed that in the last 11 games and we have to keep striving and working hard to improve and get better and that's all we can do really. If that means I have to take some heat and take some of the pressure, certainly off the players, then I'll do so because we all want what's right for this football club and the greater good.
“The prizes are given out at the end of the season, not after 15 or 16 games. There are still 30 games to go, lots of football to play, and we need to be focused on those 30 games.”
Evatt added: “We know we can be better, that's the thing. We haven't played to our best. We haven't been horrific, we're not languishing at the bottom end of the table. We are there or thereabouts but we know we can be better and we know we can improve and that's what we're trying to do.
“We're all fully invested in what's best for this football club. We've been here a long time. We’ve been on a journey from the bottom of League Two and a completely broken club to where we stand today, with two Wembley visits, some great times and performances and wins along the way.
“We know we sometimes have to take the rough with the smooth. Football journeys are always bumpy and it's always a bit of a rollercoaster but it's about staying the course and this season in particular is going to be extremely tight, so we have to make sure our heads are focused and we stay the course.”
A late equaliser at Cambridge a week ago cost Wanderers the chance to climb into the top six before they go in search of a fifth win in six home league games against Nigel Clough’s Mansfield, who have made an impressive start to life in League One.
Town’s visit is the first of six league games in December and Evatt wants to end the year on a high to keep his side on course for their long-term target with potential reinforcements from the treatment room and the transfer market to come.
“It's all about opportunity. Football always gives you another opportunity,” said the manager, who will be without captain George Thomason against Mansfield as the midfielder serves a one-match ban. “The two points dropped last week have stuck in our throat a little bit because we conceded in the last minute.
“But then we have to drop that and re-focus and I think we've managed to do that and get ready for a big, big game on Tuesday and a big month to come. If we can put some points on the board this month then we'll be closer to our target, closer where we want to be and that can only bode well with a January transfer window around the corner.
“The players, and the way that we play, it's better and easier for them to get results if they're confident and they feel supported, so let's get behind everybody, let's support the players and do our very best to have a really good month and get us closer to where we want to be.”
Watch the manager’s full pre-match interview on Wanderers TV HERE