Steven Schumacher insists that his Wanderers can still have a big role to play if they are left out of the starting XI as they prepare to make the short trip to Blackpool.
John McAtee came off the bench to score a timely equaliser at Barnsley last time on the road.
Josh Sheehan and Aaron Morley also helped the Whites wrestle back control against Lincoln City last weekend after their introduction at the interval.
“Any team that is successful needs contributions from lads who come off the bench because the XI who start the game in modern football is never the XI that finishes,” Schumacher told The Bolton News.
“The finishers have got to be making sure that they understand the gameplan, they understand the information we have given them pre-game, they have watched the game as it is developing.
“Then they are sitting there thinking, ‘I'm going to make an impact when I get on the pitch’. We stress that to the team all the time that we are going to need the whole squad at the moment.
“I have got good options to choose from. The back end of last season proved I didn't always have good options to choose from and it becomes more difficult.
“The more players we have got available, and the more players we have got in good form, the better chance we have of being successful.”
Wanderers are heading into the final days of the transfer window and their striker search has been well documented in recent weeks.
Schumacher says his good relationships with Fergal Harkin and Jimmy Dickinson are crucial while juggling match preparation with the recruitment side of the game.
“It is definitely easier once the window closes but being the head coach and the manager - I have done it obviously at different clubs - having a good sporting director next year is the key to it,” he explained.
“They deal with all the noise, all the conversations with agents, stuff going on with clubs you are trying to sign from, clubs who are trying to sign from you, so you don't really have to focus so much on what is going on outside.
“Jimmy and Fergal know exactly what I am thinking, we are all on the same page. It is Jimmy's job to identify the players, it is Fergal's job then to get the deals done so I can concentrate on coaching the team while the season is on.
“It is a good dynamic and hopefully we can all work together to get the players in that we think we need to give us a chance to get promoted.”
Wanderers have taken six points from their opening five games in League One and Schumacher is eager to kick on at Bloomfield Road this weekend.
“We are five games in and you can see what we are trying to do,” said the head coach. “I think that, as a supporter, it is something you can get behind.
“Also the effort that the lads are putting in, I honestly can't say that we are not running because the data and running stats will back that up.
“The effort the lads are putting in, how organised they have been without the ball, the style we have played, it has been good.
“We have got six points now and, in my opinion, we could easily have double that. At this stage of the season, it is not perfect, we are not top of the league but we don't need to be in August. We need to be in May.”
Share