Manager Myles Smith wants Bolton Wanderers Women to build on their hard-fought victory away at Workington Town when welcoming Fleetwood Town on Sunday afternoon.
Wanderers made the long trip up to Cumbria last weekend and braved the snowy conditions to earn a 4-1 victory to make it 12 consecutive league wins to cement their place at the top of the Division One North table - with Neishai Gordon (2), Madison Hardman and Faye Knox grabbing the goals to secure the points.
With a busy January schedule in both league and cup ahead of them, the Whites manager was delighted in the manner in which his side battled to victory, laying the perfect platform for the rest of 2025.
“Having watched the game back, it was a tough game in those conditions and they didn’t make it easy for us,” he said.
“The team had to be resilient and get their heads on and focused with the difficulties surrounding the game. But there’s huge pride from me for this team, and the 16 that travelled deserve huge credit as they showed a different side to our game on Sunday.
“It wasn’t a typical Bolton Wanderers Women’s display when it came to the performance, but you have to do that from game-to-game. It’s not always nice when you have to dig in and fight but the team did that and they were incredible to get the three points and bring them home with us.”
As was the case against Accrington Stanley prior to Christmas, Wanderers were without leading goalscorer Jess Lightfoot for the trip to Workington on Sunday.
Smith confirmed that the forward - on dual-registration from Everton - has now returned to the squad and is in contention for this weekend’s game with Fleetwood Town following time spent back at her parent club.
“Jess was recalled by Everton, which can happen and is part of the agreement we have with them, and it was great opportunity for her to be in a first-team squad for a Merseyside Derby against Liverpool – which is a massive fixture,” he said.
“But she will be coming back in to re-join us now following the Christmas break. She’s ready to come back and she will be linking up with the team and training ahead of the weekend.
“Of course, we’ll have to bed her back into the squad. She has been doing work with Everton and their strength and conditioning coaches but we’re delighted to have her back.
“But our front-line has been scoring goals, and it’s difficult for people to get back into this team or break into it. We have a number of players coming back – Jess being one of them, Lily Barnes another, Milla (Hodson) too and there’s more to mention – but competition for places now is extremely high which is what you want, but it gives you that selection headache too.”
The Cod Army are the visitors on Sunday afternoon, with Wanderers looking for a league double over Fleetwood following their convincing victory over them in the early stages of this season.
However, the Wanderers boss knows the test that lies ahead this weekend given the changes made to the opposition’s squad in the months since facing them.
“Fleetwood are a team that we cannot look back to the last time we played them, as it was such a long time ago and we know they have made changes - similar to what Workington have done last weekend,” he said.
“They have come on a long way and they have improved. They have probably not had the results they would have wanted but having been to a few of their games, their performances have been there.
“Again, it’s not going to be an easy game for us and we need to make sure we do everything right in order to get the result.”
Watch the full pre-match preview for Fleetwood Town with Myles Smith on Wanderers TV here.