Steven Schumacher is looking to Saturday’s derby day at Wigan to re-ignite the spark beneath Wanderers.
A 1-0 loss to Port Vale made it five games without a win for the Whites as they exited the Vertu Trophy in tame fashion.
The defeat left Wanderers with just a League One campaign to concentrate on with a top-six place to hold onto when they look to complete a double over the Latics this coming weekend.
“I think we need to stay calm, and obviously the game at the weekend, I don't think it can be a better game, because if you don't sort it out you'll get embarrassed in the biggest game of the season,” said Schumacher.
“We looked dangerous a couple of times, but not enough, again, not what we were seeing four weeks ago. I think it comes down to the individuals. We need to just get the ones firing who were playing really well for us and trying to figure out a way of getting confidence and belief back into the performances, because that's at the moment what we look like.
“It (Wigan) is the best game that you can possibly have and for us it starts at the next training session. We've got to make sure that we get the atmosphere right, get ourselves motivated and ready for it. It's the best game that you can probably have, because if you're not up for it, if you don't do all the basics properly, you won't get the result that we need.”
Wanderers’ hopes of reaching the quarter-finals of the Trophy – and keeping alive the prospect of a trip to Wembley – were ended by a late Port Vale winner.
League One’s bottom club deserved to go through and Schumacher admits he needs to rediscover what made Wanderers tick before a first home defeat of the season at the end of December triggered a downturn in fortunes.
“Frustrating, not good enough, again,” added the Whites’ Head Coach. “We had a long chat in the dressing room, players firstly before we got in there, and then afterwards, nice and calm.
“But we need to find out what's happening, because we've had four-and-a-half months of playing really well since August and four weeks of not playing really well.
“As I said on Saturday, after the last game, confidence seems to be low. Tonight, again, I think we've seen signs of that. I think for 60 minutes we were okay. Without being brilliant we were okay in the game, but the last 30 minutes, just probably not good enough.”
Watch the head coach's full post-match interview on Wanderers TV