How Bolton Wanderers’ Steven Schumacher really feels about Cardiff City and Lincoln | OneFootball

The Whites boss has complimented the two outfits currently ahead of his side in the promotion mix-up

Bolton Wanderers are now in their fifth successive League One campaign, still harbouring ambitions of a first stint in the Championship since the 2018/19 season.

Since earning a first-time promotion from League Two back in 2021, the Trotters have re-established themselves as one of the strongest-performing sides in the division.

Their current period in the third tier has seen them reach the play-offs on two occasions, but they suffered heartbreak against Barnsley and Oxford United at the semi-final and final stage in 2022/23 and 2023/24 respectively, as well as defeating Plymouth Argyle in the EFL Trophy final three years ago next month.

The man who was in the Argyle dugout that day, of course, was Steven Schumacher, who is now hoping to replicate his promotion success with the Green Army at the Toughsheet Community Stadium in what is his first full season in charge.

Last term, the Whites ended a rather inconsistent campaign in eighth place on 68 points - two places yet a hefty 10 points behind eventual play-off finalists, Leyton Orient.

Therefore, a current standing of third place on 65 points with nine games to go has shown the progress made under the Liverpudlian this season. However, there have been plenty of times when both Lincoln City and Cardiff City have taken full advantage of slip-ups made by the North West side in the automatic promotion picture.

As such, Schumacher has taken the time to compliment the work done by Michael Skubala and Brian Barry-Murphy at the LNER Stadium and Cardiff City Stadium respectively, with Bolton currently 11 points adrift of the Bluebirds with only 27 more points to play for.

Bolton Wanderers' Steven Schumacher heaps praise on Lincoln City and Cardiff City

With a full round of League One fixtures taking place on Tuesday, Bolton are looking to return to winning ways after stumbling to a frustrating 2-2 draw against relegation-threatened Rotherham United on Saturday.

Draws have been a theme of the campaign for Schumacher's side, particularly of late too, with half of their tally of 14 coming since New Year's Day.

Meanwhile, the Imps and Bluebirds have capitalised on those mishaps, with the former of the sides currently on a 20-game unbeaten streak whilst establishing a four-point cushion at the top of the table.

When asked for his thoughts on the two sides ahead of Bolton's home fixture with Doncaster Rovers, Schumacher admitted: "“I would argue Lincoln have been outstanding.

“They have gone 20 games unbeaten and they have only conceded three goals in their last 10 games. That is, to me, outstanding, not many teams do that in a season. They have been brilliant.

“Cardiff have still got some top, top Championship players who are still in their squad and they have played in a way this year, a style that has been dead exciting to watch. It is attacking and teams haven’t been able to live with them," he explained.

“Those two teams absolutely deserve to be where they are. They have opened up a cushion on us, and we have been good, but not good enough to sustain that consistent presence and pressure on them.

“We have been guilty of too many draws. That’s the bottom line, and as I say, why we’re third and not even higher up the table," the Whites boss stated.

Bolton Wanderers will have to restore momentum ahead of likely play-off campaign

As previously mentioned, it would take a miraculous turn of events for Wanderers to challenge the top two in the final weeks of the season, meaning they must restore winning habits ahead of the play-offs.

There is currently a nine-point difference between themselves and Stockport County in seventh, meaning their status in the post-season lottery still isn't fully secured at this moment in time.

The run-in for Bolton is also particularly tough, with fixtures against Plymouth, Stockport, Cardiff, Huddersfield Town, Bradford City and Luton Town all to come from Good Friday onwards.

From those matches, we could be given a strong indication of whether Schumacher's side really are promotion material.