MARK Little believes Wanderers are prospering now that the fear factor has disappeared from the Championship.

The full-back, who has been one of the club’s unsung heroes of a five-match unbeaten run, admits the Whites’ poor start to the campaign took him by surprise.

But with Phil Parkinson’s team now looking up the table again following the 2-1 win over Norwich City, the former Bristol City man is convinced the squad has acclimatised to their new surroundings.

“The Championship is a tough, tough league and it’s exciting, but I must admit, I didn’t think we would be down near the bottom of the table when I signed,” he told The Bolton News. “The quality of the squad and the manager is better than that. And I thought after getting promotion there would be a bit more momentum in the early stages, but it didn’t turn out that way.

“Looking back to the Hull City game (Bolton lost 4-0) I remember thinking ‘we’re showing them too much respect’ and maybe that was the case. Maybe it took us a little bit of time to adjust.

“They had spent millions and millions on their players. But you look at the last few weeks and we’ve beaten teams with budgets just the same as Hull. Once you get out there and cross the line, finance doesn’t matter.

“There’s a big gap between clubs in this division but we can’t just accept that it means we should be down at the bottom.”

Little is looking forward to getting back into the action after the international break to start a nine-game run to the end of the year.

“The manager has given us a couple of days to get some rest and relaxation because we know this is an important stretch,” he said. “After Christmas, time absolutely flies, so we need to make sure we’re in a good position by then. When we get back in I’m sure he’ll tell us what our targets are but for me personally, I am disappointed we’re still in the relegation zone because we’ve been in a winning position in a couple of games and dropped points.

“We’ve dragged a couple of clubs closer to us, so the first thing is to try and get above them and go from there.”

Wanderers have launched a festive bundle ticket offering discounted admission for home games against Barnsley, Burton Albion and Cardiff City. Prices start from £65 for standard tickets, £50 for over-65s and Under-23s and £20 for Under-18s.