Bolton Wanderers head coach Steven Schumacher says his side must become more clinical and “streetwise” after a 3-0 loss at Burton Albion continued their poor away form.
The result left Wanderers 9th in League One and extended a run without an away win that stretches back to 1 April last season at Wigan Athletic, a sequence of 9 matches with 4 draws.
Clinical Edge Missing As Away Run Bites
Schumacher offered a familiar post-match appraisal at the Pirelli Stadium, lamenting missed chances at key moments and insisting effort levels are not the issue. He argued that the game state again turned on fine margins, with Bolton failing to convert periods of control before being punished.
Bolton fell behind midway through the first half when Jake Beesley scored from the spot after Max Conway’s challenge on Charlie Webster. Soon after the restart, a bouncing cross from the left evaded the defence and Fabio Tavares finished at the second attempt. Beesley completed the scoring late on. Schumacher questioned elements of both opening goals, particularly the penalty award and a messy second that developed after Bolton had initially been in possession.
“Again, it’s a result that we’re all not happy with. I can honestly say the players are trying. The effort’s there, as I say, and goals change games. I know they must be getting sick of me saying that every week, because I do feel like I’ve broken record.
“I’m getting sick of myself saying it, but the outcome will change if we smarten up in the key moments. We’ve got to get a bit more streetwise. We’ve got to be more clinical. I don’t think they’re letting us down. They’re letting us down because we haven’t got results.
“But they’re not letting us down because they’re not trying, because they are. You can’t say they are not, so no. I don’t think it was a pen. I think the lad has bought it… What I’m disappointed with is how it got to that point… It probably wasn’t a pen. I don’t know.”
While keen not to rely on luck as an excuse, he reiterated that the team must convert pressure into goals and show greater nous in managing transitions.
With first-round FA Cup duties on the horizon and a congested league schedule, the requirement is immediate. Converting early chances, protecting leads, and tidying up set-piece and second-ball moments form the short-term checklist. The squad’s work rate is being credited, but the league table demands end product away from the Toughsheet Community Stadium.
Writer’s View
The theme is consistent, Bolton create enough to change the narrative yet remain vulnerable to momentum swings away from home. The prescription is not complex, take big chances when they arrive, defend first and second contacts with more aggression, and manage the finer details that decide tight games.
If Wanderers sharpen those habits quickly, the results should follow, but until they do, the away sequence will continue to shadow their promotion ambitions.
