MATT Mills won’t need any extra motivation as he looks to put his indiscretion at Nottingham Forest behind him today.

The defender is expected to seize the captain’s armband against Brighton after missing Tuesday night’s defeat at Middlesbrough through suspension.

Mills picked up a needless second yellow card at Forest, and Neil Lennon reckons he will need no extra warning to curb his discipline, having come under heavy fire during last weekend’s 4-1 defeat at the City Ground.

“We made it clear after the game that he must do better but then Matt knows that anyway,” he said. ”We’ll move on.

“He’s been great for me since I came through the door and if anything he let himself down – but not deliberately. These things happen but when you’re on a booking you have to be careful.”

Lennon refuses to be too downbeat despite seeing his side win just once in seven games.

“It’s not all doom and gloom,” he told The Bolton News.

“We’ve got players who are close to fitness, which will boost the squad, and we’ve got a decent run-in from 10 games to go.

“Looking at the games the only real disappointment was Forest, we played really well against Watford and against Middlesbrough.

“Maybe that’s just where we are at the moment. Maybe we’re a bit short of the top level at this level.

“Quality players – Darren Pratley, Mark Davies, Craig Davies, Adam Bogdan – they certainly would have helped.”

Lennon’s optimism was boosted after reviewing Tuesday night’s narrow defeat at Middlesbrough.

The return of Emile Heskey to beef up the attack has been noted as a major boost for the squad by the manager, who could pair the veteran with Adam Le Fondre against Brighton this afternoon.

“You can see the difference that Heskey made,” he said. “The ball was sticking and we played on the front foot in the second half.

“We created plenty of chances against one of the top teams, now we haven’t played that well away from home for a few months now. That’s a positive.”

Meanwhile, Lennon wants to start another home run after suffering his first Macron defeat against Watford a fortnight ago.

Back to back games against Brighton and Reading give him a good start – and the Wanderers boss is optimistic his side can start pulling away from the bottom three this week.

“I think generally, home form has been excellent,” he said. “I’m looking forward to these games now.

“We played as well as we have in any game against Watford, the quality of the three goals, so if we get a replica of that game I’ll be pleased.”