Lennie Lawrence sets promotion target and explains why he went to Bolton

After Bolton's eight-match unbeaten run, having picked up 20 points in that stretch, Bolton fans began dreaming of a playoff spot for their men in white. It's possible for Bolton to have a place in the promotion dance but it will not be easy by any means. With eight games to go in the season, the Trotters are in eighth place, five points behind Leicester City and Brighton & Hove Albion, in sixth and seventh places, respectively.

Bolton's assistant manager, Lennie Lawrence, went on talkSPORT radio and discussed his team's promotion hopes. Dougie Freedman's second-in-command, who has managed more than 1,100 games, said:

"It's difficult with eight games of the season to go. But it's not impossible. We will have to win five or six of our last eight games.

"We've had that good run, just at the right time which has got us on the fringes of it and now we have to make sure.

"This break has come at quite a good time for us. A few have gone off on international duty and a few need a few rest because eight or nine played virtually all the games in this good run.

"If we can come back refreshed and get off to a good start at Charlton when we come back, who knows what might happen."

Lawrence also went on to explain why he took on the Bolton job:

"Once Dougie had decided to accept the offer and the business was done before the two clubs properly, which it was, that it was loyalty to Dougie.

"For me it was loyalty to Dougie. He took me to Palace and once he decided to accept that offer then, it was a straightforward one for me."

Finally, Lawrence was asked what exactly his role was at Bolton:

"Assistant manager, straightforward. It's not a director of football role, it's not a technical director role. It's an assistant manager role, you're involved in the training and you do what an assistant manager does.

"The difference being that having done so many games and being older, there would be a degree of mentoring involved and make sure he's not making any mistakes before he makes them.

"He's got enormous potential. He's cracking on at a rate of knots. He's got that energy and that enthusiasm and that desire you need in a young manager."