WANDERERS defender Sam Ricketts returned to Bolton from Wales’ World Cup qualifying double-header on Wednesday immediately switching his focus to today’s Charlton clash and the Championship play-off charge.
The 31-year-old was one of three players away on senior international duty along with Adam Bogdan and Chung-Yong Lee, though only the Korean played on Tuesday with Bogdan and Ricketts unused substitutes for their countries.
Ricketts was back at Euxton less than 24 hours after Wales’ home World Cup qualifier defeat against Croatia itching to get the eight-match play-off chase under starters orders.
Bogdan sat out Hungary’s 1-1 draw in Turkey but Chung-Yong Lee helped South Korea to a 2-1 World Cup qualifying win over Qatar in Seoul, playing the full game as the Koreans scored the winner through Son Heung-Min in the sixth minute of added time.
In total, the Whites had five players absent with Craig Dawson and Marvin Sordell also away with England Under-21s, and Ricketts accepts it is not an ideal time for a two-week break from league action.
But it is full speed ahead now until May 4 with Wanderers, and Ricketts is determined to get back to winning ways after defeat at Ipswich last time out 11 days ago.
He said: “Internationals can be disruptive because we didn't really want the break to come the way we have been playing.
“And the first thing we said when we got into the dressing room at Ipswich was we wished we could play Charlton on Tuesday night.
“We want to get back to winning ways.
“Hopefully, we will come out of the traps firing at Charlton.”
With eight matches to play and an Easter double header against the Addicks and Huddersfield at home to come, there is ample opportunity for Dougie Freedman’s men to close the gap to sixth-placed Leicester.
And Ricketts remains confident the team can be in the end-of-season shake-up if they get back to the form that saw them go eight games unbeaten before the Portman Road setback.
He added: “We have definitely still got a chance. There are eight games to go; 24 points.
“If you win eight games, you are in the play-offs easily.
“Possibly six or seven wins might get us in, depending on what other teams do.
“We have had a good momentum of form and we want to keep that going. Where it takes us we will find out on May 4.
“We are sort of relying on other people so all we need to do is look after our own form, that will get us points and hopefully we will be in the play-offs.”
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