DION Charles clutched the match-ball with a grin from ear to ear on Saturday evening, then insisted: “It’s back down to business!”

While League One sat up and took notice of Wanderers’ stunning 5-0 win at Peterborough United, neither the hat-trick hero nor his manager Ian Evatt expected the celebrations to last much beyond the journey home.

Charles became the first Bolton player to net three away from home since John Thomas did so against the same opposition in Division Four, back in January 1988.

Ricardo Santos also scored his first two Bolton goals in the club’s biggest away win since the opening day of the 2001/2 Premier League season at Leicester City.

To top it off, Saturday marked Wanderers’ 5,000th league game, but despite the sense of occasion, Charles reckons it will not affect the squad as they begin preparations for Tuesday’s home game against MK Dons.

“We are an honest, hard-working bunch of lads and we won’t get carried away,” he told The Bolton News.

“You can’t get too high with things like this, or too low when you get beat. It is about staying level-headed and professional.

“If we keep going under the radar and picking up results, who knows what could happen come the end of the season?

“We are taking it game by game, everyone is bought in, and we’re thriving. We can’t wait for games to come around, I’d play again tomorrow. And while we are on this kind of form, who knows what can stop us?”

Whether Wanderers can stay ‘under the radar’ with such head-turning results is debatable but Ian Evatt’s side has now moved into fourth, six points behind the automatic spots.

The manager is working hard to keep his players focussed on the bigger picture.

“Tuesday becomes a bigger game in some respects,” he said. “I have told the players that there are 15 cup finals left. If we get things right against Accrington – which will be tough – then we might get another too.

“There is a long, long way to go. We can only focus on one game, keep players grounded and level headed.”

Charles moved on to 17 goals for the season in all competitions, three short of his season target of 20.

Two ice-cool finishes from the spot bookended a close-range effort from Gethin Jones’s excellent cross, and came as some surprise to the manager himself.

“If you had seen him train over the last two days you would never have thought he’d do that, he’s been awful!” he smiled.

“He hit a penalty that nearly took out our drone on the training ground.

“We had a laugh and a joke in there but I am really pleased for him.

“He has deserved the hat-trick. He works tirelessly from the front and he is a big reason why we are keeping clean sheets at the moment. I thought him and Shola Shoretire, the way they combined, they did exactly what we needed.”