Wanderers head to Mansfield Town tomorrow night with their focus fully back on their promotion challenge and the chance to make the most of a busy December, writes Pete Oliver.
A first defeat in nine games saw Wanderers crash out of the FA Cup at Swindon Town last Saturday.
But with a chance to quickly bounce back at Field Mill on Tuesday, boss Steven Schumacher is looking for a points-winning performance in the first of seven League One fixtures inside the next month either side of Christmas.
“It's a big week for us, two challenging league games that we want to try and take advantage of,” said the Whites’ head coach. “We obviously didn't play well on Saturday, played well in the other (Vertu Trophy) cup game on Tuesday and our performance level on Saturday dropped.
“We didn't get anything from the game, which is what we deserved, but we want to try and respond from that, certainly on Tuesday, and have a good reaction and see if we can get a result that will be better than the one we got at the weekend.
“The league form – the form in general – has been good. We had a bad performance on Saturday and were punished for that. So, we dust ourselves down and we get ready to go again.
“The Christmas period, as always, I feel can be quite influential on where you end up being. If you can put a good run together over Christmas and stick in the pack then it gives you confidence going into the new year. That'll be the message to the lads; put Saturday's game to one side now, focus on the next one, see if we can get a result from it.
“We're going into a difficult run of fixtures in a really congested period so the whole squad have to be ready to perform and we have to be able to play to the levels that we know we can play at. As I say, the performance levels the majority of this season have been excellent, so we want to try and get back to that.”
The defeat at Swindon was only Wanderers’ fourth of the season, with Schumacher’s men currently occupying the final League One play-off spot – six points behind second-placed Bradford City with a game in hand.
Things could change rapidly with five games to play in December, including three at the Toughsheet Community Stadium where Wanderers – who entertain Exeter City on Saturday – are unbeaten this season.
And Schumacher will be looking to kick-start another run at Mansfield who advanced in the FA Cup on penalties at Accrington Stanley on Saturday and will doubtless try to make life testing for the Whites after three successive league losses which have left Nigel Clough’s men 16th in the table.
“We're in a good spot,” added the Wanderers' boss. “We're sixth at the moment and we've been playing well. So we have to stay confident that we can put in a good performance on Tuesday and back that up at the weekend with another good performance and a good result.
“Then the picture looks different again. There's a long way to go. It's not even half-way yet in the league and we're coming into a difficult period over the Christmas period so we have to just keep going and keep trying to be as consistent as we can.
“We've got to find a way to win (at Mansfield). We've got to show different sides to us. I think we've been relatively consistent with how we've played but the wins that we've had have been in games that I’d class as suiting us, especially the games at home.
“The ones away from home where you've got to show a different side to the team, fighting, scrap and battle, they can sometimes be as pleasing as a convincing three or four-nil win.
“We might have to do that on Tuesday night. Mansfield won't make it easy for us. The way they play is a style that can cause you a problem if you're not ready and you're not prepared.
“If you're not ready to fight and battle as well, then you won't get the outcome that you want, so that has to be the message: ‘let's roll our sleeves up and see if we can go and put in a real good away performance that gets us the result that we want’.”
Wanderers will have midfielder Xavier Simons back after serving a one-match ban and defender George Johnston also returns to the squad to face the Stags after being given a breather at Swindon.
Left-back Richard Taylor felt a slight groin issue on the back of the loss at the County Ground and has undergone a scan, while Schumacher will also check on wingman Ibby Cissoko – who has just become a father for the first time – before finalising his squad for the trip to Nottinghamshire.
Full commentary of the game at Mansfield with Derek Clark and John McGinlay will be available on Wanderers TV with a pass available to buy HERE