John McAtee was thrilled to get off the mark in the league against Crawley – and believes it is the type of performance that will serve Wanderers well this season.

McAtee wrapped up the result 12 minutes from time with a thumping strike after combining with Aaron Collins.

“The gaffer said they would be open in transition because they were obviously trying to get back in the game,” he recalled.

“As soon as I saw Szabi (Schon) come down the wing with the ball, I gave myself some space out wide. Colls gave me a favour back from Wednesday and I put it in the net.

“Sometimes it might not look pretty but at the end of the day, three points is what we are after. Those sort of away performances are key if you want to do well in the league.”

McAtee and Collins’ partnership also proved fruitful against Arsenal in midweek, with the latter getting on the scoresheet at the Emirates.

The pair were introduced from the bench for the final 20 minutes at the Broadfield Stadium after Dion Charles and Victor Adeboyejo had got the nod from the start.

McAtee is relishing the competition for places in the final third and believes it will have a positive impact over the course of the campaign.

“Colls is a fantastic player,” the former Luton man added. “He is clever, quick, he can move and the more we play together, the partnership will keep getting better.

“(Competition) is healthy. It is not like we are gunning for each other, we all have different qualities and they are good players. It is healthy competition and will only stand us in good stead going forward.”

The 25-year-old has been getting used to life at Wanderers in recent weeks, having joined the club late in the window.

McAtee is a local lad, growing up in Walkden, and was immediately embraced by the Bolton faithful.

“The more I play, the more I am going to get used to the lads and get fitter,” he continued. “I am always happy to put on the shirt and thankfully, I got myself a goal and the team got a win.

“(The support) has been great. I haven’t been as good as I know I can be since coming in but at the same time, I understand as a player it takes time to get used to things. Hopefully, that can kickstart my season.

“I enjoy interacting with the fans and stuff like that. If they are singing my name, it must be good so I will keep trying to make them do that.”

The versatile attacker even pulled out an acrobatic celebration after firing past Jojo Wollacott in the Crawley goal.

“A few of the lads didn’t know I had that in my locker,” he beamed. “It is always nice when you get your first goal in the league and hopefully that continues.”