Cobblers boss Edinburgh well prepared for threat of Bolton Wanderers

Earlier this season, Edinburgh took his Gillingham team to the home of Bolton Wanderers for a Sky Bet League One clash and was on the wrong end of a 4-0 thumping.

The Town boss is gearing himself up for a return to take on Phil Parkinson’s in-form team this weekend, and despite what happened on his previous visit says he is travelling with confidence.

“It is going to be tough,”said the Cobblers boss. “I went there myself as a manager earlier in the season and was on the end of a bad result.

“They are a team that are physically strong, they have a lot of experienced players, and it is going to take a top performance from us.

“It will take the type of performance we have seen throughout my time here, in terms of the commitment, the resilience, but also the bright play and being ruthless in both boxes.”

Bolton, who were somewhat fortunate 1-0 winners at Sixfields in November, are desperate for the points to maintain their push for automatic promotion.

They go into the game on the back of two impressive away performances, winning 4-2 at fellow top two contenders Fleetwood Town last Saturday and then 4-0, again, at Gillingham on Tuesday.

“It’s going to be extremely hard and a very difficult game as they are good opponents,” said Edinburgh.

“They have a lot of experienced players within their group that have played Premier League and Championship football so we know it’s going to be a tough task.

“But we’re on a run of three successive wins and we go there in good form ourselves.”

Edinburgh will run the rule over his squad’s fitness before the weekend, with the likes of Zander Diamond and John-Joe O’Toole currently playing despite carrying knocks, and they are not alone.

“We’ll need to assess,” said the Town manager. “We have a lot of players playing with injuries and with knocks but credit to them.

“They’re continuing to put their bodies on the line and we have another tough game on Saturday, but it is one we will relish.”

One player who could make a return to the playing squad is striker Alex Revell, who hasn’t played since injuring his calf muscle 20 minutes into the 5-3 defeat at Milton Keynes Dons in mid-January, Edinburgh’s first game in charge.

Asked if the 10-goal forward could be fit for the weekend, the Cobblers boss said: “Possibly.

“If the week goes to plan then there is a chance of him being available, but we know he is going to be back sooner rather than later, whether it’s Bolton or the following week against Oxford United. He’s not far away.”