IAN Evatt has challenged his surviving strikers to fire Wanderers back towards the top two.

Aaron Collins, Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Cameron Jerome are still available for Bolton as they host Oxford United tonight, then travel to second-placed Derby County at the weekend.

After suffering more injury woe with the news that Victor Adeboyejo will miss at least the next four weeks with a hamstring problem – and potentially the rest of the campaign – Evatt admits he is sick of talking about his treatment room.

And he believes his trio of front men can remind everyone of their quality over the next two games, keeping Wanderers within touching distance of the automatic promotion spots before the international break.

“It has to be the next man up mentality,” he said. “With adversity comes opportunity and there will be one now for players who might not necessarily have been involved but they can help now to get this club to where it needs to be.

“I mention injuries because you ask me the questions, but I don’t want to keep harping on about them because I don’t want us to make excuses. I want us to focus on the job. And if we manage to achieve it, it will feel all the sweeter.

“It is tough, rough but we have to get on with it.

“We know this is a big week and I have said for a while now that if we can get to the international break in touch, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

“Players will get some rest and recuperation, some will return, they will regenerate, we will be in a much better place.”

Oxford United’s 2-1 win against Cheltenham Town at the weekend was only their second in 11 League One games, a run which has seen them drop out of the top six.

The U’s have had three managers in the last 13 months – Des Buckingham the latest man in the hotseat, succeeding Liam Manning and Karl Robinson.

Evatt feels the team style has not changed massively despite the different faces in the dugout.

“It is a tough game, they are a talented team, really attacking and aggressive,” he said.

“They love to play in transition, counter-attacking moments. Their front four and Cameron Branagan from deeper, love to shoot from distance.

“They are a similar side to when Karl (Robinson) was in charge, probably not quite as transitional, but the remnants are still there of what they will want the game to look like, and what we need to make it look like.”