ADAM Le Fondre fired a warning to League One defences, insisting: “I’m just getting started!”

Wanderers breathed fresh life into their automatic promotion hopes with a stunning 4-2 win at Fleetwood Town on Saturday.

Le Fondre scored two of the goals, his first since returning to the club on loan from Cardiff City, and feels he is getting sharper as the business end of the season approaches.

Wasted on the bench at Wigan Athletic for much of the season, the 30-year-old struggled at first to find form and fitness in his second spell at Wanderers.

But after forging an effective partnership with Gary Madine in recent weeks, Le Fondre feels he is now ready to hit the goal trail again.

“I’ve been fighting for fitness and hadn’t played for four months,” he told The Bolton News. “I didn’t think it would be as hard to get up to speed as it has been.

“That’s probably my fault. I was on the bench a lot at Wigan and never really played, so to come straight into games here, I found it tough, physically.

“Now I am getting the minutes I am starting to reap the benefits.

“First time here we had Feens (Liam Feeney) and I said if he puts crosses in, I’ll score goals and no matter how big the centre-halves are I’ll find a pocket of space.

“If you put in balls like that I’ll finish off the chances. I’m just getting started.”

Saturday’s result ended an 18-game unbeaten streak for Fleetwood, and brought Wanderers a point behind them in third place, with one game in hand.

Phil Parkinson’s side had won just twice in their previous 10 outings but Le Fondre is confident the team has now turned a corner.

“It was a statement,” he said. “We had a blip with a couple of performances but we’ve shown second in the league that we are here to play now.

“We need 11 more of those performances to do the job.”

Captain Darren Pratley also returned to the line-up for the first time since the opening day of the season, producing a lung-bursting 80-minute display in midfield.

“Having Prats back is fantastic, he’s a great player,” Le Fondre said. “Seven months out and it looks like he’s never been away. It’s a testament to how he keeps himself and the professional he is.”