Freddie Sears insists the mood in the camp remains upbeat as Town remain in the hunt for a play-off place and possible passport to the Premier League.
While their chances of automatic promotion have dipped dramatically in recent weeks, to the extent that manager Mick McCarthy has virtually ruled it out, Town still have everything to play for in the remaining weeks of the season.
Former West Ham youngster Sears has netted four times in 12 appearances — seven starts and a further five as substitute — since his transfer from Colchester and three of his goals have come in the space of his last five outings.
Sears said: "The mood in training has been good since we lost at Middlesbrough at the weekend. There are plenty of bubbly characters here, which helps, and while we are all disappointed every time we lose you can’t afford to let it affect you for the next couple of days.
"The perfect thing for us is that there’s a game on Tuesday. I know it’s an old cliché in football but you can’t wait to get out there and hopefully put things right again. It’s going to be a good opportunity for us against a good Bolton team.
"Everyone was obviously disappointed on Saturday but when we got home and saw that Brentford had lost at home to Cardiff it kind of gave us another boost, confirming that nothing is done and dusted yet.
"I can see this league going right to the final day before the top two and the play-offs are sorted out. It’s going to be exciting for everyone involved.”
Sears admits that any kind of win will do against Bolton because at this stage of the season the priority is points rather than performance.
He added: "That’s probably right because the thing we want above all else is to put the three points on the board. Everyone wants to play good football and win but I think we’d take an ugly 1-0 win and kick on again for the weekend and a tough trip down to Watford.
"People say it must be easier to play against teams like Bolton, who are in mid-table and have nothing to play for. But the pressure is all on us to win. Bolton are not under pressure if they win, lose or draw because they should be safe this season but it’s a hard game for us because they are definitely no mugs.”
The Trotters, in fact, have won just three times in their last 13 games in all competitions but more recently they have been beaten just once in four league games, as a result of ex-Town striker Jordan Rhodes’s last-gasp goal for Blackburn in last week’s Lancashire derby at Ewood Park.
Games against promotion rivals Watford and Bournemouth are on the horizon for Town but Sears said: "Bolton is a big game and we know we need to get the three points.
"We’re not looking past that one at the minute but we can beat Bournemouth and Watford on our day. For now, though, it’s Bolton we have to beat and we’re looking forward to it.”