Kyle Dempsey believes Bolton Wanderers fans have now seen what he can do on the pitch following his January move but will not be resting on his laurels for a place in the team with the competition in midfield and the impending return of Josh Sheehan.
The midfielder scored his first brace for the club and indeed his first goals for Wanderers over the weekend in the 3-0 victory over Wycombe. The Whites took the lead in the first half of the 3-0 victory when Dempsey finished to give Wanderers the advantage following good work from Liverpool loanee Conor Bradley.
They doubled their lead just before the break when Aaron Morley slotted home from Dapo Afolayan's pass. Dempsey added his second after the break as Wanderers ran out worthy 3-0 winners.
READ MORE: 'They need to' - Bolton Wanderers squad sent message as Ricardo Santos injury details emerge
The midfielder had a limited impact in the second half of last seen following his deadline day move in January from Gillingham owing to injuries. He is now back fully fit after a good pre-season and believes Wanderers fans saw what he is capable of against the Chairboys.
He said: "The runs which I make from midfield, and I just felt like I was giving myself so many opportunities to score or create goals, and that is what I am going to try and continue doing. I feel like when I make those runs, if a midfielder just switches off for a second, with the pace and power that I’ve got I am going to be in on goal. Then it is just about taking my chances.
"I have had a really good pre-season. I have felt really fit, really strong. Obviously, the gaffer has been impressed as well.
"It was just really frustrating to pick up that knock and I thought, ‘here we go again. What severity is it?’ It settled down Monday and I have just had a really good week on the grass. I have taken it onto the pitch and it is one of those where when the squad is that strong, you’ve got to take your chances and I felt like I really did that today.
“I do a lot of work with a sports psychologist and he just said the more that you think negatively, the more negative things are going to happen. Even if it is a tiny bit of positivity, you have got to take that and just keep using that and that is what I did.
"I stayed positive and thought if (the knock) is bad, I will just get myself fit and push again. But luckily for me, it wasn’t as bad as I thought and I’ve had a really good week on the grass and then an even better day today.
“When I came back from my knee operation, I think it was early stages of December, I never felt like I was back to full fitness and where I want to be. I think you have seen today with the runs that I make, even when it was the 85 th or 86 th minute, I am still bursting down to the corner. That is the energy and fitness I have and, as long as I can keep myself fit, I will continue to do that all season.”
Dempsey is part of a competitive central midfield at Wanderers. It also includes Morley, MJ Williams, George Thomason and Kieran Lee at present.
One player who will soon return to that group is Josh Sheehan. The former Newport County man is nearing a return from a ruptured ACL which has kept him out of action since last November.
With the quality that the Wales international possesses, Dempsey knows full well he will have to keep on performing if he wants to stay in the team. But that is something he relishes and believes the strength in depth will be needed this season if they want to achieve their goals.
He said: “You know you have got to perform at the highest of your game to keep the shirt. I am one of those who likes that pressure. I sort of play better when there is that added pressure, and I think the team will play a lot better knowing if you start having an off couple of weeks, you will probably come out of the team.
"Josh coming back now, he looks a top, quality player. I have played against him before and he adds to the strength that we have got.
"That is what we need. We need everyone this season, especially Christmas time and towards the back end of the year. You play a lot of games and you have got to rotate squads like the top teams do.
“We won’t get carried away. We take every game as it comes.
"We will be back on the pitch on Monday and we will be focusing on the game Tuesday, and then the league on Saturday. We concentrate on doing the best that we can do and implementing our gameplan. Then we feel confident that we can take the points.”
Don't miss a thing from the club you love! For all the latest updates on Wanderers , sign up to our free newsletter packed with all the latest news here.
READ NEXT:
