Bolton Wanderers manager Keith Hill has insisted that his side must improve their away form, if they are to avoid relegation from League One this season.

The Trotters remain rooted to the bottom of the third-tier standings with two points to their name, following their 12-point deduction for entering administration at the start of the season.

Of the 14 points they have actually picked up in total this season only three have come away from home - in a 2-0 win at Bristol Rovers - with Wanderers losing all of their other six league matches on the road.

Bolton's away struggles have also manifested themselves in the cup competitions, where they have lost on the road to Rochdale in the Carabao Cup, and to Accrington in the EFL Trophy - having previously drawn at Spotland in that competition.

The league will however be Bolton's obvious priority, and Hill is well aware his side need to improve that away form in order to give them a chance with that, as when speaking about that to the Bolton News ahead of Wanderers' trip to promotion-chasing Peterborough United on Saturday afternoon, he said:

“Peterborough has been in our thinking for a couple of weeks and I know we have to get to a place where we are picking up points away from home. “

"We can’t ignore the fact our home form has been okay, we’ve lost one in the league, and I think that should and will trickle on.

“Away from home, though, we have lost three games since I have been here. Now I have to think about how we turn that around and get results. We probably should have done it pre-season but we didn’t have one.”

The Verdict

You can understand why Hill is so keen to address this issue.

When you look at their record so far this season, Wanderers home form is admirable, but it does feel like it would be putting a lot of pressure on them to rely purely on that in the fight for survival, especially when they already have two more away games than home games to play.

That being said, Peterborough is not going to be an easy place for them to start doing that, given the Posh's own performances and ambitions this season, meaning Bolton are going to have to brace themselves for a big challenge if they are to change anything quickly.

Then again, that is something they have been facing all season.