Dougie Freedman couldn’t hide his delight after his Bolton side ended their nine match winless run in the Championship, with a 2-0 victory over Watford.
Goals from loan signings Lukas Jutkiewicz and Joe Mason gave the Trotters only their third win at the at the Reebok Stadium this season and kept them six points above the relegation zone.
Saturday’s win will relieve the pressure on Freedman, who has faced criticism in recent weeks from fans after a run of poor results.
Freedman left the Reebok satisfied by his team’s performance against a strong Watford side.
“It is very pleasing for a coach, when you work all week and it all comes together and you get the result you deserve,” Freedman told Bolton’s club website.
“I believe that in recent weeks we have been playing well and scoring goals, but we haven’t been able to see results out but we changed that against Watford.”
Freedman was especially pleased with the performances of his two loan strikers, especially Joe Mason, who only returned to the club on loan from Cardiff on Thursday.
“Joe Mason kept on going and got the goal his play deserved he created so much today he could have had a couple more,” he added.
Mason reacted fastest to Neil Danns’ flick on to double the Trotters lead moments before half time after Lukas Jutkiewicz had tapped in Jay Spearing’s free kick to give Bolton the lead after 35 minutes.
Both Danns and Spearing received praise from Freedman who felt their hard work allowed his strikers to have that little bit more freedom to go and create chances.
“I thought Neil Danns in behind him did a lot of legwork, making good runs and that opened up space for us,” Freedman said.
“Also I felt that Medo Kamara and Jay Spearing were fantastic in the middle of the park, they worked ever so hard and restricted Watford in what they were able to do.
“That, in turn, allowed our two strikers to go off and do what they were able to do.”
The result gives Bolton their first win since a 1-0 victory away at Barnsley on Boxing Day.
Freedman now hopes his side can take confidence into next Saturday’s home game against local rivals Blackburn Rovers.
He said: “We have to continue to stick together and everyone is playing their part in helping the club move forward.
“We now have a local derby coming up next week and we’ll continue to work hard in training ahead of that.”
Image courtesy of BWFC via YouTube, with thanks.
