Steven Schumacher reveals what Bolton Wanderers must fix - 'there's no magic wand' | OneFootball

Bolton Wanderers are yet to pick up three points away from home in League One this season.

Sitting 9th in the League One standings, Bolton Wanderers are yet to pick up three points away from home this season.

Wanderers suffered their heaviest defeat of the campaign thus far over the weekend, with Steven Schumacher's side falling to a 3-0 loss against strugglers Burton Albion.

Away form has been Bolton's Achilles heel across their opening 12 matches, with their unbeaten home record being a stark contrast to their run of six away trips without a win this season, and a further three stretching back to their 1-0 win away at Wigan.

Wanderers currently sit four points behind the play-off positions, with boss Steven Schumacher calling for serious improvements on the road.

"You've got to show more quality" - Bolton boss makes claim on poor away run

While Bolton have done well to fight back to claim a point in matches against Barnsley, Blackpool and Leyton Orient this season, they have conceded first in each of their opening six away clashes.

Looking to change this, Schumacher told Bolton News that Wanderers have to: "Score first! You've got to show more quality."

'When we get into the final third, some of the deliveries were overhit. Chris Forino should probably have scored with his header from a nice ball in and either side of the goalkeeper, and it's a goal."

"From set pieces, I think we need to look a bit more dangerous. We haven't really been a threat from them. You have got to find another way to score a goal if they score first. It can't just be that they have scored and now it's game over."

After going 1-0 down against Burton thanks to a Jake Beesley penalty, Schumacher was pleased with his side's reaction: "The last 20 minutes of the half were fine, so the reset was okay. Half time, we were all in the dressing room saying: 'Look, we get the next goal and we'll win this game."

That would not prove to be the case, as Fabio Tavares added a second for Burton just three minutes into the second half, before Beesley scored his second of the match to seal the deal in the 94th minute.

Schumacher said, "I don't know, there's no magic wand. There's no magic formula. I just keep saying, we've got to be more clinical with the chances that we get, because if we score first, it's completely different."

Wanderers have an upcoming chance to right their away wrongs instantly, with a trip to Huddersfield Town coming up on Thursday, with the Terriers sitting two places above Bolton in 7th.

An uptick in away form would transform Bolton

Performances have not necessarily been poor for Wanderers this season; however, their stats in front of goal reflect the exact issues pointed out by Schumacher.

Bolton have scored 16 times across their opening 12 third-tier matches, but they sit fifth in League One when it comes to big chances missed, with Schumacher's side racking up a tally of 19, while their xG sits at 18.2.

And, alongside their average possession stat of 59.6%, no other side in League One comes close to Bolton's 360 touches in the opposition's box. But the fact of the matter is that Wanderers are not scoring as many as they should, while they are conceding at a higher rate than projected.

Had their two most recent away losses against bottom-half dwellers Northampton and Burton been converted into wins, Bolton's campaign would look incredibly different, with Schumacher's side sitting well among the promotion contenders.

Wanderers have picked up 17 points thus far, and only three of these have come away from home - each from draws.

A trip to Huddersfield will prove tough, with both sides among those wishing to fight for promotion come May. But Bolton are in serious need of points on their travels.

The club are aiming to be among the promotion candidates once again after missing out on the play-offs entirely last term, and to do this, they require a serious uptick in their away form.