Tony Kelly's verdict: Bolton Wanderers fans can help keep run going (From The Bolton News)

Tony Kelly's verdict: Bolton Wanderers fans can help keep run going

9:50am Tuesday 29th December 2009 in

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I EXPECT confidence will be high in the Bolton dressing room before tonight’s “six-pointer” against Hull.

The target is a win, obviously, and the pressure will be on both teams, but the Bolton players must have the edge after that nice little run they’ve put together.

It’s been a tough first half to the season, but after drawing with Manchester City, beating West Ham and drawing at Burnley on Saturday, there’s a chance they could go into the new year with eight points from a possible 12.

And with the league as tight as it is, that can make a massive difference and set us up nicely for the weeks ahead.

The players know that and the fans know it too and I expect them to play their part tonight. I’ve said time and again that a passionate crowd can be the 12th man, and this is an occasion when they really can come into their own.

We’ve got to make the most of home advantage and make sure we end the year out of the bottom three. Nothing is ever decided in December but it can make a big difference, morale-wise, if you’re out of the relegation frame.

Confidence is the key in these situations and I’m delighted to say that things have improved considerably in that respect over the last couple of weeks.

I predicted that the lads would link arms and you can see from their performances that they have. Collectively and individually they’ve shown they are up for the challenge.

I was particularly pleased for Matty Taylor on Saturday because he got his reward for many hours of hard work on the training ground. That free-kick he tucked away was absolutely superb and it was no fluke. You only score goals like that by practising long and hard.

I always used to stay behind working on free-kicks and it paid off, not always of course, but often enough to earn me a reputation as a set-piece merchant.

I remember in my Bolton days that I got a lot of help from the young keeper Chris Clarke because the senior keepers had usually gone home when I was doing my extra shift. Young Chris used to stay behind with me and faced so many of my free-kicks that he got to know exactly where they were going to go. But if I struck the ball well, there was no way he could get near them.

You don’t always get your reward for all that hard work, but when the practice pays off, it boosts your confidence.

I’m looking forward to a bit of banter with my old mate Phil Brown tonight but I’m sure he’ll understand that friendship goes out of the window when important points are stake. Browny wasn’t just my captain at Bolton, he was also my mate. We had some great times together and it’s always good to meet up with him.

I’ll be winding him up tonight. He wouldn’t expect anything else.