Bolton Wanderers boss, Keith Hill, remains quietly confident that his side can record their third consecutive victory as the Whites welcome Fleetwood Town to the University of Bolton Stadium on Saturday afternoon. 

Wanderers produced an impressive display to see off Bristol Rovers just over a week ago as Hill's side registered their first win of the 2019/20 Sky Bet League One campaign, and the confidence from that win helped guide the Whites to a 3-1 victory over Manchester City u21s in the leasing.com EFL Trophy on Tuesday evening. 

And despite last Saturday's fixture with Lincoln City being postponed, it didn't affect Hill's off-the-field preparations and squad development. 

The Bolton boss is faced with the prospect of having to reshuffle his squad, as star midfielder, Ali Crawford suffered a mid-to-long term knee injury during Tuesday's 3-1 win. 

In terms of preparing for Saturday's clash with Fleetwood, Hill admits that his players are working 'harder than ever' to keep the momentum going. 

Positivity

"I'm really pleased", Hill told bwfc.co.uk "Training's been positive, demanding, a great attitude on the pitch, a great attitude from the players, and I'm really looking forward to the game against Fleetwood on Saturday."

On Fleetwood's start to the current campaign, Hill admits that his side's in for a stern test on Saturday afternoon. 

"A good side, a top three side for me. A top three side squad, but it's just a game in isolation. Joey's (Barton) done a great job, and they should be very proud of what they're trying to achieve and I believe they could potentially finish in the top two."

Ali Crawford update

Hill admits that Ali Crawford will be unavailable for selection for quite some time, and the extent of his injury will be made more clear in the coming weeks. 

"We don't know long-term, but it looks like he's going to unavailable for Saturday", said Hill. "It's probably going to be a process of looking at it again in four weeks time maybe, so it is mid-to-long term at this moment in time. But we have to wait for a specialist diagnosis from the doctors on what we do next."

in terms of players returning from injury, Hill admits that a number of players could possibly be fighting for a first-team place in the coming weeks. 

"Potentially, yes. When they're on the training pitch, they're fit and ready to go."

The Bolton boss is full of praise for his hard-working playing staff. 

"I'm really pleased, not just physically, but mentally", said Hill. 

"I'm really pleased with the dynamics, the changing rooms, the leader's that we've got, the young players that we've got that we're trying to educate, we're demanding more out of them to grow and we need to protect them. I'll protect them, there's no question about that, but we're demanding and we demand more from these players.

"As for the senior players, it's all about maintaining standards, make sure that you're maintaining your livelihood and you can only do that by demanding more of yourself and putting ourselves in the position where we're challenging opponents to win football matches."

Hill added: "That's the big challenge ahead now, as the players return to training, the players that we've got, can you hold the fort? can you grow? can you prosper? can you be a young player that's going to develop into a future captain for me? can you meet the demands that we put on you to go and win football matches? 

After consecutive victories, Hill admits that his side isn't short of confidence. 

"There might to be more hurt to endure before we can surge up this league", admitted Hill. "We've got 32 games to play, which is really encouraging from my point of view and I'm working with a really good group of players, they really are a privilege to work with and they all want to do really well on behalf of the supporters of this football club.

"We are united, but the demands are there. We are testing and we're trying to build the character of the team to constantly churn out performances and try our very, very best to win football matches. This is a sport, it hurts, it's challenging, it's demanding, you have to make decisions, but then you're looking for a positive response, 'I'll show you', and that's what we're getting."