Bolton Wanderers make the trip across the Pennines this weekend when they travel to take on Sheffield Wednesday.
Wanderers make the journey to Hillsborough to take on Darren Moore's side in one of only four games taking place this weekend in League One.
Bolton go there aiming for a third win on the bounce in the division and fourth in succession across all competitions following the midweek victory over Liverpool's under-21s in the Papa John's Trophy.
READ MORE: Bolton Wanderers injury news ahead of Sheffield Wednesday as Gethin Jones update given
And with the reduced fixture list, Wanderers have the carrot of knowing that should they pick up three points in South Yorkshire, they will be in the League One play-offs by 5pm.
Ahead of the match, Wanderers manager Ian Evatt spoke to the media and here's a transcript of what he had to say to broadcasters.
Any problems or issues?
“No. All good. I think everyone came through the game fine from Tuesday and obviously the lads have had some rest and recuperation after a tough week last week, so we’re okay and all systems go.”
It’s a nice system to have with Sheffield Wednesday - a big club, a big ground, a big game…
“It’s nice because it’s close to home for me! It’s a game we’re looking forward to. Obviously all the hard work we’ve put in last season in League Two has given us opportunities like this one.
“Sunderland away, Sheffield Wednesday away, fantastic occasions and stadiums. Big clubs in their own right as well as us, so we’re really looking forward to it.”
Is this going to be a difficult area for you with the fact you’ve got a big squad and everybody chomping at the bit?
“That’s what I’m paid to do. I‘d rather have these decisions than not. It’s great that we’ve now got Baka back. We’ve got people returning all the time.
"We’ve got people that are doing well when given opportunities and decisions need to be made. It’s down to me to get it right.”
What do you expect from Sheffield Wednesday?
“I think it’ll be difficult. I think it’s a really difficult place to go. They’ve got a very, very strong squad. A lot of them have played in the Championship last season and most of their careers, if not higher, so it’s going to be a challenge for us.
"But I think you know us well enough now to know that we’re going to go there and attack and try and implement our game plan and our style on them and hopefully that’s enough to get us the three points.”
Around 3,000 tickets already sold - the fans certainly are backing Bolton and it’s not a surprise anymore?
“It’s not. Our fans are fantastic and hopefully now we’ve got two games - one away from home and one at home next week - to really look forward to.
“That’s the key thing for me is that they’re being entertained, our fans. They’re enjoying what they’re seeing, they’re enjoying watching us play and they’re backing us and we can’t ask for anymore.”
Traditionally managers say you take one game at a time, but somewhere in that assessment, do you plan for the future?
“I said last last week you try to and I had a look at September at the start and thought ‘wow, that’s a difficult month’. Then I’ve done the same thing in October, so it is interesting, it is entertaining. It’s something that we embrace and look forward to.
“We’re really enjoying our football, we’re really enjoying playing. Opposition managers keep telling me we’re a really good away team so hopefully that comes to fruition on Saturday.”
The style of play that you like to play, do some teams try to play that way and is there less of a long ball and is football more technical now?
“Probably but there’s no right or wrong answer. It’s all down to interpretation and down to what you prefer to see. I see the game and understand and believe it should be played this way, but at the end of the day it’s about winning football matches.
“For me the holy grail is winning playing this way and if you can do that consistently then we’ve cracked it, but that’s what coaching is. It is watching other people, stealing ideas, and putting your own interpretation into things and how they fit your team and your squad.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel, we’re just implementing our own ideas and taking bits and bobs from other people to try and best fit our style and system and that’s what it’s about really.”
How beneficial has it been for the players that were involved on Tuesday night to be on the end of a good result?
“Winning is always good for morale and confidence. I would have expected us to win on Tuesday. We put out a very strong team, and as I said on Tuesday, it’s really a mark of how we’ve come that we can make 10 changes and still put out a really competitive team.
“We have, when everyone is fit and available, good strength in depth and they’re pushing each other for that starting slot on Saturday.”
Is the tactical side of the game something you’ve been discussing with the players with greater frequency this season?
“It’s about looking and learning and being humble enough to learn and watch other people coach and their styles and then taking bits that you like and then interpreting it and trying to make it fit your own squad and that’s what we do.
“We are what I would say a technical football team and tactically aware. But all that only matters if you get three points on a Saturday and we have to make ourselves that, but a winning team.
"If you’re a winning team and doing that for me, in my opinion, that’s the holy grail.”
It’s been a productive start to October. There’s going to be some challenges ahead but is this where you get a feel now for how League One may challenge the team?
“I think we’ve already got a feel for that. I think we’re 11 games in and it’ll be 12 on Saturday, which is over a quarter of the season gone already, and we’ve had a conversation this morning and we don’t feel like there’s anything to fear really.
“We feel comfortable with where we’re at. We feel like we’ve left points out there, but I’m guessing most teams would feel that way, but we’re a confident group that has a huge belief in what we do. We still need to improve, there’s no doubt about that, and we can make improvements.
“But for me, what we’ve seen so far should only reemphasise what our end goal is and our end goal is to be at the top end of this division.”
What improvements are you looking at strengthening in the short term in October?
“I’d like to win every game, because we haven’t done that yet in a month. We go out to try and win every game. That’s what we want to do. We want to have consistency.
“Obviously we’ll look no further than Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday. We know we’ve got some difficult games this month, but it starts with Sheffield Wednesday and that’ll be a huge challenge for us, but it’s also a challenge that what we have seen from this group while we’ve been together is that we thrive on these big challenges and these big stages.
“Hopefully we’ll go there and attack and play our way and that’s good enough for three points.”
What else do you think Sheffield Wednesday will have to offer as they ended up losing on home soil last weekend to Oxford United?
“I watched that game and Oxford were very good and deserved to win. I’m sure Darren (Moore) would be the first to admit that, so there will be a reaction from them.
"They’re well supported. It’ll be a good atmosphere and they have some very good players, so they’re capable of beating anybody in this division, but we’d rather not concentrate on what they can do, rather than what we can do and if we can play to our levels and performance levels and set the standards that we have done so far this season then we’re confident that we can get a good result.”
