GEORGE Thomason reckons defeat at Reading should be a “wake-up call” for wasteful Wanderers.

The young midfielder admits Saturday’s profligate performance in Berkshire was symptomatic of a troubling issue over the first seven games of the season.

Bolton have had more shots at goal than any other side in League One and only trail Barnsley in terms of goals scored – but they have experienced difficulty putting some results beyond doubt.

Thomason says developing more ruthlessness in front of goal is a must if the club wish to challenge at the top end of the league.

“There are always periods in games where either side will have chances, spells of pressure, and it is cliched but it just comes down to who takes them,” he said.

“You can dominate a game and still come out on the losing side, and I feel that is what has happened again to us.

“I think we create enough chances on a weekly basis to really punish teams but it is a habit that we really do need to get better at.

“We have talked about it even when we have won games this season – can we push on, find that edge, really kill teams off. When you are 1-0 up away from home it just isn’t a safe place to be, if it is two or three it is a different story, you can manage it.

“I think even when we concede the equaliser we should have done better and said ‘this is it, we take a point now’ but we have to learn from it.

“This has to be a wake-up call. Yes, we might think we are a good team, yes we create chances, but it doesn’t matter unless you have that positive score-line at the end of it.”

Wanderers topped the table at one point on Saturday afternoon but finished the weekend in seventh after late goals from Charlie Savage and Caylan Vickers earned Reading an improbable three points.

Evatt’s side host Peterborough on Saturday and Thomason feels there will be a positive reaction.

“There have been honest discussions in that changing room after the game and it is frustrating, it hurts, we had enough chances to win the game in the first half. The longer is stays at one, it gives them an opportunity,” he said.

“They grabbed the momentum and capitalised on it. We didn’t regroup well enough and we know it. The lads are down and naturally we are disappointed but football shouldn’t be a blame game, you have to take accountability for your own performance.

“We went away from what we are good at during the second half. That is on us, the players on the pitch, we didn’t do what we were coached to do.

“We have to analyse how we improve as a team and that will start Monday where we can really push ourselves to next weekend.”