Wanderers Women are raring to go heading into an important block of games as they aim to build on their perfect start to the league campaign.
Myles Smith’s side have taken maximum points from their opening nine league matches since moving under club operations.
The Whites currently have a three-point cushion above Penrith, who have played a game extra. Accrington Stanley are the only other unbeaten side although the Reds have three games in hand to make up.
The Bolton squad got somde time to refresh last weekend after their County Cup clash with Radcliffe was called off, with the opposition unable to fulfil the fixture.
Smith reckons the break has had a positive impact on the squad and hopes they can kick on, starting with Sunday's trip to Blackpool (2pm).
“We are feeling good,” he told The Bolton News. “The team had a bit of a rest over the weekend, we have purposely de-loaded them over the past two weeks and are starting to see the results of that now.
“They are looking fresh and raring to go, and that was what we wanted going into this block of games. They are in a good place.
“We plan in six-week blocks and try to prepare the players as best we can, and sometimes the best preparation is to allow them to spend some quality time with family and friends.
“That is what we allowed them to do over the weekend. The last two weeks, we have stopped pushing them as hard as we usually would to give them a chance to recover.
“It is a long season and we are coming to that time of the year where people start to get tired. But we have still made sure that we got some good, quality work in and are now preparing for this weekend.
“We take one game at a time so the focus this week has been Blackpool and then we will switch our attention to the next game.”
It is set to be a demanding period for the squad, with games against Preston North End and Accrington Stanley also coming up, but Smith insists they are relishing the challenges ahead.
“The team are excited, they are raring to go,” he continued. “There will be some challenging games coming up and that is what you want as players and coaching staff.
“You want to be playing teams who will challenge you and make you better. We focus on ourselves and make sure that we get the things right that we need to.
“We always tweak little bits for the opposition but we have our identity and way of doing things. If we do that on the day, we are capable of matching most teams in the division and above, as we have proven this season.”
One of the main things that has pleased the manager since the start of the campaign is the identity which his side have managed to implement, and he hopes it will stand them in good stead for the long run.
“When you start to build an identity for a football team, you can’t just do something because you like to do it that way and you can’t just do something that you have done in the past,” Smith explained.
“When you step into an environment, you have to look at the variables - the opposition and how they play, the players available to us, what will be effective in this league, and what the players are capable of from a physical perspective.
“You have to take a lot of things into account before you put an identity together and that was my first three or four weeks before I officially started – doing all that research and trying to piece together what I thought was the best way to win football matches.
“We have got off to a good start but when you put the identity together, it is the players who have to work relentlessly to understand it, get better at it and then go out and perform it. The credit has to go to them for that.”
More than 500 fans turned out to watch Wanderers’ last home game, and Smith says the squad are eager to repay that support with more positive results on the pitch.
“The support has been nothing short of breathtaking,” he insisted. “I have been at a lot of places and when you look at the level this group is playing at, and the attendances we get, it is huge.
“We are getting more support than some teams four leagues above us! We are not far off matching WSL attendances for some teams.
“The support has been incredible and the credit goes to the fans, but also to the club for making this happen.”
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