Sam Ricketts admits the pressure is on after defeat by Norwich on Saturday left Bolton in the Premier League drop zone.
Bolton full-back ready for crunch game against Wigan
Sam Ricketts admits the pressure is on after defeat by Norwich on Saturday left Bolton in the Premier League drop zone.
Goals from Andrew Surman and Anthony Pilkington sunk the Trotters as they lost their 16th game of the season.
Having only managed to register three wins in their last 10 outings Bolton have found themselves locked in 18th with a relegation battle to fight.
Rock-bottom Wigan are the visitors to the Reebok Stadium on Saturday and Ricketts has acknowledged the significance of the clash, and believes his side should be lifted by the freshening up of the squad.
Derby
"Next weekend was always going to be a big game, because it's a local derby, and with the situation both teams find themselves in," said the 30-year-old.
"It's going to be chop and change at the bottom all the way to the end of the season.
"This is a setback, but we have players coming back from injuries and new signings, so we need to dust ourselves down and get back to the level we've been at recently."
New signing Marvin Sordell is raring to get his first start for Bolton after a substitute appearance at Carrow Road while on-loan Ryo Miyaichi provides added cover for manager Owen Coyle.
Pressure
However, despite the loss the Trotters boss is adamant that his side do not have time to dwell on the weekend's result and must be ready to stand up and be counted in the crunch match.
"We can't afford to feel sorry for ourselves," Coyle said. "When we've lost, the next game always becomes bigger, that's par for the course and that's when you have to deal with pressure.
"We have played a lot of games in a short period of time, and that may have caught up with us here."
Bolton hold a five-point advantage over Wigan heading into this weekend's tie before they face the challenges of league leaders Manchester City and fourth-place Chelsea in the space of a week.
