THERE will be nothing glamorous about Wanderers trip to Gillingham tomorrow but midfielder Aaron Morley promises he has had worse.

A long journey to a soggy Priestfield to face opponents scrapping for the lives in League One’s relegation zone sounds like exactly the sort of dust-up that has caused Bolton problems in the past.

But one of the youngest Wanderers – just turned 22, in fact – reckons Wanderers have to rise above anything the Gills throw at them.

“We know what sort of team Gillingham can be, they are really physical,” said the former Rochdale playmaker, who ended up on the losing side for the first time last Saturday since signing at the UniBol. “They go for corners, they go for set pieces, and you just need to defend well, try and play your own football and get a win however you can.

“I think they were right at the bottom of the league at the start when I came in and they have obviously got some great results recently. We need to dominate the ball if we want to get anything out of the game.”

With more rain expected in Kent between now and the weekend, Bolton could yet face another tricky playing surface.

“You have bad pitches – but the one on Saturday can’t be as bad as Burton,” laughed Morley.

“And I think I have played on worse. Rochdale’s pitch at one point was horrendous.

“To be fair they had it done a few times since I’d been there and it was alright but the rugby team play on it as well, so as soon as the weather gets bad it just rips up a bit.

“Whatever happens we know how they play – set pieces and throw-ins. So hopefully we can dominate the ball and get the three points.

“There are 11 games left now and if we want to make the play-offs we know we need to win most of them.”

Wanderers have left themselves little margin for error in the final 11 games if they are to succeed in their aim of a top six spot.

While not exactly ‘make or break’ the opportunity to bounce back after last weekend’s defeat at MK is one Morley feels his team has to take.

“Every game from now until the end of the season is important but we know, coming off a loss, we need to step things up and we need to get the win to get our play-off push back on track,” he said.

“I think we’re only seven or eight points off the play-offs and 11 games, anything can happen. Hopefully, it will go our way and we can push the right way again.

“It is a massive chance for us and we know we can do it. It is just putting in the performances every week.”

Morley has quickly become an important figure in the Bolton midfield, missing just one game – at Burton – since making his first start against Ipswich Town on January 15.

No longer the only star of the show, as he had been at Spotland, Morley admits he has had to tailor his game since arriving at the UniBol.

“The lads have been great with me and I back my own ability but it has surprised me a bit, playing nearly every game,” he said.

“At Rochdale they needed me on the ball to make things tick but everyone here can hold the ball and make the team tick. It’s great playing with better players.

“It is a lot more intense and obviously the players are a lot better.

“I wasn’t expecting to play every game but I knew that if I put the work in during training then I would get my chance and I just need to take it.

“Most of my career appearances have been in this league so I know I can do it, it is just doing it for longer periods of time.”