Bolton Wanderers skipper Ricardo Santos is looking forward to taking on old side Peterborough United this weekend and the challenge of trying to stop the likes of Jonson Clarke-Harris and Jack Marriott.
Wanderers captain Santos played for Posh between 2014 and 2016 after being brought to the club by then-manager Darren Ferguson. He ended up playing 75 games for Posh, scoring once in that time.
He made only a handful of appearances in the 2016/17 season under Grant McCann, who has now returned to London Road for a second spell in charge. He moved to Barnet in January 2017 to pursue game time.
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Since joining Bolton in the summer of 2020, he has played 100 times for Ian Evatt's side. The latest apperance came in Tuesday night's 2-0 win on the road over MK Dons.
Santos has opened up on his time at Posh and how things changed when a new manager came into the dugout at London Road. A desire to play more and not spend time on the bench motivated his decision to move on to pastures new.
But he bears no ill feeling towards his former employers, though he would like to claim three points over them in a challenging game. He is also looking forward to the challenge of facing Peterborough hotshots Jonson Clarke-Harris and Jack Marriott.
Of his time at Peterborough, Santos said: “I played a lot of games. I think the first season I went there I probably made my debut in the last game of the season and then the season after that, I think I played about 60 games maybe for them.
"I think it was just the new manager coming in and rotations really and I was young at the time, I was on the bench and all I wanted to do was play. I had a chance to go on loan but it was my first time really being on the bench so I really just wanted to get out and play football so I went to Barnet.
“I’m a humble guy and football is all about opinions and if a manager does not want to play me, then I won’t sit and sulk or anything. I’ll just keep working hard but nothing against any managers that want to change it. They’ve got to play what feels best at the time. I don’t really look much into that.
“Peterborough have always played good football even when I was there, they played lots of expansive football, so it’ll be a good game and they’ll be a good test.
“I’ve played against them two before, especially Jonson Clarke-Harris. He’s a big boy, he loves being physical, but on the other end he’s a goalscorer. Jack Marriott as well, he’s lively. Like any other striker in this league, you’ve got to just stay on your toes and just be ready for anything.”
“Peterborough are a good team. I played there before and I played a lot of games for them. We’re playing back at home so we’ve just got to play how we’ve been playing and like we showed against MK Dons and against Charlton. We’ve got to play the same way with the same intensity.
“We didn’t give MK Dons a minute's rest and it will be a good game. We’ve got to just keep working hard and get three points at home.
“I’m always going to try and work harder. I always want to get one up and them and get the win and hopefully I can get a goal, it would be even better. To be fair, I’m not really going into the game thinking about that. I’m just thinking about us, the team and trying to get three points.”
Santos has been at Wanderers since the start of Evatt's time as boss. He has gone on to become captain and rack up a ton of appearances.
The defender admits it surprises him to reach that milestone when he reflects on when he joined Bolton, as he paid tribute to the confidence Evatt gives him to perform. He believes it has been a good start to the season but feels Wanderers must stay grounded despite their encouraging early season position.
He said: “To be fair the first season I was here, I played every single game and I was surprised about that because before I came here, I suffered a lot of injuries at Barnet and I was out for a year. I didn’t play much games but the gaffer believes a lot in me.
“Even the games where I’ve made one or two mistakes, me and him talk a lot and he’s always giving me encouragement and he gives me the confidence.
“It’s a good start. We want to stay as high as possible and it’s not even January yet and we’re in the top six so we just need to not get ahead of ourselves, just focus on game by game.”
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