WANDERERS boss Neil Lennon says Saturday’s win at Birmingham was the first step in restoring the town’s pride in their team and hopes to take another stride forward tonight at Charlton.

Lennon is just one week into the job at the Macron Stadium but is already loving the challenge.

Sending almost 1,800 fans home happy after the 1-0 victory at St Andrew’s gave the Northern Irishman a huge lift and he is demanding more of the same in the capital as he looks to reunite the Wanderers faithful with their team once more.

Lennon told The Bolton News: “It’s a challenge but one I am really enjoying.

“To see the supporters go home happy is what the job’s all about.

“We need that kind of support we had on Saturday both home and away.

“It’s important we try and get the fans back onside because there has been disenchantment with things.

“That’s understandable because this is a huge club and performances haven’t been good enough.

“There is a huge amount of pride in the town in the club so we have to restore that.

“The onus is on myself to do that, but it is also on the players as well.

“They have to realise what that responsibility is and bridge any gap between themselves and the supporters.

“They can only do that by winning games of football and showing fans it really means something to them.

“I think I got that from them at Birmingham.”

Lennon was encouraged by the response of his players at Birmingham and is hoping the feel-good factor from that win can be built on at The Valley.

The boss wants his team to enjoy their football again and says the signs are positive so far.

He added: “I had my lad in last week and asked the players if they remembered what it was like at eight years old to just enjoy football.

“I want them to have that love and enjoyment for the game.

“I know things are different as professionals but you are still playing because you love the game.

“Forget about the money and all the other stuff and strip it back to what you enjoy because the more successful players are, the more the money will come anyway because it goes hand in glove.

“If they do that we can get something going here.

“It only needs a spark to change things.

“You could see the lift the players got when we scored on Saturday.

“Momentum is everything in this division because it is very competitive.

“If you get a few wins you can fly up the table.

“We have been down on our luck for far too long.

“Slowly, but surely, we need to get ourselves out of trouble.

“It will be difficult because there are a lot of good teams in this league but I am confident the players are capable of doing it.”