GETHIN Jones knew exactly how Ricardo Santos felt as he walked back down the tunnel last Saturday after a red card against Bristol Rovers.

Head bowed, the Bolton captain could hardly argue with referee Carl Brook after tripping Aaron Collins and knew that a bad afternoon was about to get a lot worse for himself and the team.

Jones experienced a similar feeling back in September. His form had been chequered leading into the home game against Peterborough United, and a scything challenge on winger Ricky Jade-Jones left official Ross Joyce with no option but to reach for the red card.

It was the first dismissal of the defender’s career but – with some hindsight – allowed him to take stock of his own situation and refocus his efforts on the training ground.

Santos will not be available for selection until the Boxing Day game at Lincoln City and Jones expects his long-time team-mate to use the time to his advantage.

“Listen, I have been there,” he told The Bolton News. “It isn’t nice. But it is a mistake. I reacted after that, and I know he will too.

“I wasn’t really happy with how things were going for me prior to that Peterborough game, the way I was playing, I wasn’t up to my standards. When I got sent off I had a two-week period to concentrate on training, getting back to what I do best.

“Rico won’t be playing on Saturday so he has a little gap now to the next game he can be involved in, and I know he will bounce back. He will be brand new when he returns.”

Wanderers had not lost successive league games since October 2022 prior to last weekend, and the result has understandably shaken a camp that had been in confident mood to that point.

In a season where Bolton’s manager and players have talked positively about automatic promotion chances, the timing of defeats against Portsmouth and Bristol Rovers has given them plenty to think about over the last few days.

“The mood was disappointed, flat, at first,” said Jones, asked about how the players had responded to the last week.

“We felt like we had started the (Bristol Rovers) game well but then got a sucker punch of a goal to go 1-0 down. Rico’s mistake happened and we couldn’t quite get ourselves back in the game after that, which is gutting. I don’t think in the whole calendar year we have had back-to-back defeats. It was hard to take.

“But I know these lads and I know they can react. The manager has that faith as well, he is unbelievable with us and has picked us up. It’s down to us now to work hard and get a result on Saturday.

“It has to start on the training pitch. We have said all season that there is a line between confidence and complacency and getting consistent results means staying on that confident side.

“You have to work hard in training, do the basics well, make sure there is energy and attitude going into games. We know with the quality we have in the squad that if those things are right, it will come out and we’ll win more games than we lose.

“We have had a couple of poor results now, so the whole team has to look at that and work harder, individually and collectively, and then the performances will come around again.”

Wanderers face Leyton Orient at home before successive away games at Lincoln City and Fleetwood, then a New Year’s Day game at the Toughsheet Stadium against Burton Albion.

On paper, the festive game appeared an appetising one. But Jones admits performances must pick up for it to be considered a successful festive run.

“It is the busiest period of the season so it is easy to get momentum and it is easy to lose it as well,” he said.

“We have a strong squad and I think we’ll need everyone – we’ll all need to be ready now to make sure we can pick up some results over Christmas.

“It all comes down to what you do on the training pitch and the attitude you take into a matchday. If those things are right then we have good enough players to pick up wins, I am sure of that.”

Wanderers have reduced ticket prices for the home game against Leyton Orient (kick-off 3pm) to £10 for adults and £5 for concessions.