Reading manager Ruben Selles praised the strong character of his players for brushing aside the club’s off-field worries to secure a vital 4-0 League One victory over Cambridge.

Goals from Sam Smith and Femi Azeez gave Reading, who are still beset by constant cash-flow problems, a commanding half-time lead and they cruised past Cambridge after the break with further efforts from Lewis Wing and Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan.

“It was really important for me to see the character of the team as the week has been another difficult one for us,” Selles said.

“The boys have been working really hard to get that kind of performance and to get those goals.

“We focused on the task in hand and it is good to find a group of players who want to compete for each other in that way.

“I’m very proud of what they did today.

“We were very ruthless in the final third, very ruthless in what we did. I would like to see that more often.

“It’s not myself who kept the players focused. I think they learnt themselves to keep focused as individuals and as a team.

“It was a great expression of the character of the dressing room. The team is alive, it means that it has that life inside.

“It makes them really difficult to beat and they showed that. So it’s not down to me, it’s absolutely them.”

Struggling Cambridge, with new head coach Garry Monk three matches into his reign, lost heavily to Reading after a previous 6-0 defeat at Lincoln on Tuesday.

“It’s been a difficult week,” said Monk. “But I’m not going to lose any belief in the squad.

“It’s been a difficult two games that we’ve had but I’ve seen enough in the players, the ability is there.

“But it’s been a symptom of these two games. We started this one well enough and with a bit of momentum.

“But it seems that every time we get that bit of momentum, we kind of shoot ourselves in the foot.

“The first two goals were similar to Tuesday (against Lincoln). They were just poor goals, just individual errors, whether that’s down to concentration or decision-making.

“And it leads straight to a goal. Unfortunately, that’s what happened on Tuesday and that’s what happened today.

“There were quite a few large spells in the game overall when we were quite competent with the ball and were doing OK.

“But we come out in the second half, again gain momentum, but not taking our opportunities is then compounded by Reading’s last two goals.

“And then you’re out of the game.”

Shrewsbury boss Paul Hurst said he had a feeling Daniel Udoh would get on the scoresheet again after his goal earned a 1-0 victory over rock-bottom Carlisle.

Udoh made the breakthrough five minutes before time, holding off numerous defenders before turning and converting at Harry Lewis’ near post.

The 27-year-old missed a chance to add a second late on but his first-half effort proved enough as Shrewsbury moved nine points clear of the League One relegation zone with their first home victory in seven games.

Udoh was also on the scoresheet as Shrews won 2-1 at Port Vale earlier this month and Hurst, who celebrated his first home win since returning as head coach in January, had a feeling the striker would notch again.

Hurst said: “We could have made it a little bit easier at the end with the chance, ultimately one goal was enough today.

“I said in there (changing room) that I thought he (Udoh) is due a goal and he would score today, as I said when we were at Port Vale.

“I wish it was that easy as I would tell him every game and he would be on the scoresheet but a great finish. He is good at that, he only needs half a yard.

“We have the victory and we will kind of enjoy that I don’t think it was a day for top many words after the game as we haven’t got a game for a while now.

“It’s not very often you get the chance to enjoy the victory so let the lads enjoy it and I am asking Liam (McLaughlin, Shrewsbury analyst) for results and then thankfully a few of them have gone our way.”

Carlisle’s best effort came from Dan Butterworth, who won the ball high up before gliding past a host of Shrewsbury defenders only to be denied by Marko Marosi.

The result leaves them rooted to the foot of the League One standings, 16 points adrift of safety.

Carlisle manager Paul Simpson said: “Really disappointing obviously to come away with nothing from the game. It was a game of few big moments but we were on the wrong side of the big moments today.

“We have probably had three opportunities where we should have done better for their goal.

“We have had a couple of really good chances that we weren’t able to finish, one right at the end of the first half and another from a set-play.

“I think it was a game that was there if we shown a bit more quality in the final third but unfortunately we have come out on the wrong side of it again.

“The biggest difference for me today was when we got into that final third we didn’t show that qualiti. We didn’t find the right passes, crosses or whatever it might be.”

Charlton boss Nathan Jones was left less than impressed with the state of the Fleetwood pitch after their 1-1 draw.

Blustery conditions made it difficult for both sides but Ryan Graydon came off the bench to salvage a point for battling Fleetwood as his 84th-minute strike cancelled out Alfie May’s opener at Highbury.

“It was just brutal really, a brutal game,” reflected Jones.

“The conditions and the pitch made a spectacle very hard out there.

“There was a lot of honesty out there, but very little quality so a point was a fair result.

“I don’t think a Football League pitch should be like this. For whatever reason it is, I don’t want to comment too much on it. But it made any kind of footballing game very difficult. The wind took away any chance of a spectacle.

“It’s one of those things, it’s EFL football. It was a brutal game today.

On the goal the Addicks conceded late on, he added: “We lost a runner, lose a challenge then another challenge and they tap it in off the post. I’m really disappointed because there were four things we could have done better.

“The manner of the goal was very disappointing. It was probably an even result, but when you lead going into whatever minute it was you expect to see it out and we didn’t.”

It was a goal which denied the London club all three points, though they stretched their unbeaten run to eight games.

But for the Cod Army it could be a precious point in their survival bid.

They are five points off safety and boss Charlie Adam was left wanting more.

He said: “If you look at what we did again, we created three or four big chances.

“The impact of the subs did a good job again. I’m really pleased for Ryan to get the goal, it was the least that we deserved from that game.

“We will go away, dust ourselves down and look back on it with real frustration in terms of not winning the football match.

“I believe we had the best chances in the game so it’s frustrating. But I’ll say it again, we’ve closed the gap and that’s all you can do.

“It’s disappointing but all we can do is look forward to the games that we have left.”

Des Buckingham was hungry for more goals despite efforts from Ciaron Brown and Josh Murphy earning Oxford a 2-0 win at Port Vale that moved them into the play-offs.

Brown’s 16th-minute strike lashed the U’s into the lead, before Murphy’s cross-shot nestled in the far corner to settle the scoring four minutes into the second half.

Billy Bodin had an early effort swept off the line and the visitors had two penalty shouts waved away, as they dominated proceedings throughout.

Oxford had chances late on to add gloss to the scoreline – Will Goodwin and Murphy fluffing their lines with the goal gaping. Baylee Dipepa came closest to a late consolation for Vale, firing into a crowd of bodies.

Speaking to BBC Radio Oxford, visiting boss Buckingham said: “Another three points to back up Saturday. We asked for a reaction but not an overreaction.

“We controlled the game for most of the game and it was an excellent performance and a fully deserved three points.

“If we’re being critical, we should score more. We’ve done enough to come away with the win. That’s the important thing.

“We changed the formation. We wanted to get at these and attack them. We needed to react from Tuesday’s defeat to Bolton. Game by game we’re seeing how important every game will be. We spoke about going on our own run of form. Six points out of the last nine is done now. All the players shone today.

“It’s important we got another three points and back in the play-off spots. We now have a 12-day international break to get ready for another couple of games and see how many points we can get from that.”

Speaking to BBC Radio Stoke, Port Vale boss Darren Moore said: “Two set-plays, two goals to concede which were very disappointing. That’s the most frustrating aspect of it. I thought we started the game really well.

“We had Oxford on the back foot but after quarter of an hour, the first goal seemed to rock us a bit. That gave them confidence and the ability to start stringing passes together. I needed to make a double substitution and that seemed to stem the tide a bit.

“The second goal gave us a mountain to climb. We huffed and puffed after that. We had a couple of half-chances but nothing fell to us in the box.

“You don’t want to lose games. I want to be open. I’m disappointed, the boys are disappointed. But I have to say to them, while the maths are still there, we have to keep going. We need to get ourselves up, dust ourselves down and be prepared for a real tough game at Burton next week.”

Derby head coach Paul Warne applauded goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith for his part in a crucial 1-0 victory over League One promotion rivals Bolton.

Wildsmith made several outstanding saves before Kane Wilson’s header settled a tense contest at a packed Pride Park.

Bolton will look back on several moments, notably when Jon Dadi Bodvarsson’s 17th-minute header was brilliantly saved by Wildsmith.

Bodvarsson was again denied by Wilsdmith early in the second half and George Thomason saw his curling shot in the 64th minute turned behind.

Wildsmith’s reactions were rewarded when Wilson scored with Derby’s first effort on target in the 78th minute, clinching a victory that took County four points clear of Bolton with seven games to play.

Warne said: “Joe pulled us out, we congratulated him after the game which is unheard of, managers congratulating goalkeepers, but he pulled off two unbelievable saves.

“One in the first half from a header, as soon as the cross came in I just thought it was going to hit the net so that’s a great save and one in the second half as well, so Joe has been part of a decent team performance.

“We just had enough to win. There wasn’t anything in it really. Joe made two great saves and it always felt like it was going to come down to one set piece. In really tight games a set piece goal can win you it and today it did.

“If I was in the other dressing room I’d be disappointed that I wasn’t leaving with a point because I thought the game probably was a draw, but to win and keep a clean sheet is crucial.”

Bolton manager Ian Evatt is not giving up hope of earning automatic promotion.

“It’s not over, there’s a lot of football to be played, we have to stay calm and keep the faith,” he said.

“Nobody in the stadium could agree that Derby deserved to win the game. We were completely dominant. I think it was the first time in our final third second half with the corner and we’ve conceded a poor goal.

“I’m proud of the way the players played, obviously the result matters and it makes it more difficult for us, but there’s loads of football to be played and a long way to go.

“We had the better chances, their keeper is probably man of the match which speaks volumes. Football isn’t fair sometimes, but the most important thing for us is to keep believing.”

Barnsley head coach Neill Collins was left frustrated as his promotion-chasing side were held to a 0-0 draw by League One strugglers Cheltenham.

The Tykes had numerous chances to break the deadlock but could not find a way through a resilient Cheltenham side who are fighting for survival.

The draw prevented Barnsley from moving up to fourth and they now sit seven points behind the automatic promotion places.

Collins said: “I don’t think the players did an awful lot wrong. We’re really frustrated because obviously it’s a game at home that we expect to win.

“It felt right up until the 96th minute that we could score.

“It’s hard to be too critical because I think on another day we get that first goal and we go on and win the game.

“(We’ve got) a couple of lessons to learn. We’re all frustrated but I think what probably makes it feel worse is we just had that disappointment here last week (a 5-1 home defeat to Lincoln) and we wanted to put it right today.”

On regular captain Jordan Williams dropping to the bench, Collins said: “Jordan’s played more football than anyone in our team.

“I felt today we needed the extra height at the back to deal with aerial balls. Then (at) right wing-back, I felt Corey (O’Keefe) deserved the opportunity because I think he’s been good.”

Cheltenham head coach Darrell Clarke was pleased with the result, which edged his side to within four points of safety.

“Clean sheet, point at a tough, top-six team to come up against,” Clarke said.

“They ask you a lot of questions in different variations of the game and we defended our box well at times. We had a couple of opportunities as well.

“We’ve had a lot of illness, a lot of injury in the camp and the boys dug in well to gain that point.

“It wasn’t pretty on the eye at times. We didn’t have enough control, for me.

“We had to dig in, we had to defend. But like I said, the lads are putting their bodies on the line.

“The lads were on their last legs at the end there.

“We huffed and we puffed, couldn’t quite get that goal but a clean sheet away at Barnsley, against a team that scores a lot of goals is pleasing.”

Clarke picked out the performance of 39-year-old defender Curtis Davies.

“That experience in the backline helps us at times just to settle things down,” Clarke added.

“I’ve forgotten the amount of balls he headed out the six-yard-box for us, which is why he’s in there and he’s important for us. A great lad.”

Wycombe boss Matt Bloomfield hailed January signing Matt Butcher’s brilliance after his second-half brace sealed a 2-0 win over Northampton.

Butcher’s double – his first goals for the club – also completed a hat-trick of victories for Wycombe, although he waited until the 69th minute to break the deadlock.

Bloomfield insists the win is a wider reflection on Wycombe’s positive direction, though he remained fully focused on Sky Bet League One despite the fact they have a Wembley final against Peterborough next month.

He said: “As soon as I heard a whisper he (Butcher) was available I knew we had to get him.

“He’s been fantastic since coming to the football club and exactly what we needed.

“There’s been a lot of exciting news lately. There’s been too much talk of Wembley for my liking because I want to focus on these league games.

“The board have been amazing in their support and the hard work behind the scenes to provide better times ahead for this football club.

“I always felt our performances weren’t far away and now the work the boys have put in all season is being rewarded with wins.

“It was a stop-start first half, but in the second we found a spark and fresh energy.

“The boys that came on off the bench did that for us and that’s their job.

“I’m really pleased with the performance and the result. We’ve started to get the results that our performances have deserved.”

In contrast, one win in seven games makes for poor reading in the latter part of Northampton’s season.

Boss Jon Brady insisted he does not want the defeat to signal an end to his side’s campaign as their dismal recent form leaves little to fight for.

He said: “I said to the boys I think it’s a mindset. I don’t want the season to drift, I want to finish strong.

“The game was scrappy. You come to Wycombe and you know you’ll have to battle and fight.

“I thought there was nothing in the game until the first goal and it was a very soft goal, as was the second.

“We come away very frustrated on the day.

“The second one was looped into the back corner and it should be saved, but there you go.

“We had little half chances, but not much more than that. The differences are in both boxes. We shouldn’t concede those two goals.

“Even if we aren’t scoring at the other end, we should come out of that game 0-0.

“We got ourselves in a good position, but we need to be better and get our edge.

“I feel that we’ve lost our edge in our mindset and our play as well.”

Lincoln boss Michael Skubala hailed his free-scoring side after they hammered Bristol Rovers 5-0.

The impressive Imps took their recent tally to 16 goals in three games with another fine display at Sincil Bank.

Luton loanee Joe Taylor will get the plaudits for a first professional hat-trick, sandwiched between captain Paudie O’Connor’s opener and Reeco Hackett’s late fifth.

Anthony Evans missed a penalty for the visitors, who had a man advantage for the last 15 minutes after Ethan Erhahon was sent off.

“We started well again,” said Skubala, whose side are two points off the play-off spots after a 13th game unbeaten.

“We talk about starting bright, starting fast, and we did that.

“I just said to the boys this is what we do. If you’re going to come and play us you have to be on it.

“Scoring five goals was fantastic. You saw us scoring goals, but we needed our keeper today. Big man Lukas was fantastic. Those are the things that don’t get mentioned when you score loads of goals.

“You saw his and Paudie’s quality today. As much as we talk about goals, we’re getting clean sheets as well. I thought those two were fantastic today.

“I don’t know how many Joe’s scored. I just like people scoring goals. Joe at the minute, his positioning in behind is fantastic.

“He’s improving all the time. That’s why he came here. He’s a real threat to anybody.”

Rovers boss Matt Taylor understandably cut a frustrated figure after his side were put to the sword.

He questioned his players’ desire with a number of them out of contract in the summer.

He said: “We started the game so poorly. There were some diabolical moments, defending for the goals.

“The script was set in terms of what to expect from them. It looked like some couldn’t match it and some looked like they didn’t have the mindset to match it.

“The first goal was embarrassing. Their goals are diabolical defending. They’re my responsibility.

“All I ask is they take more personal pride in their performance. That first half an hour was too poor a showing for me to accept.

“There’s a bigger picture which we all know about. Is that affecting some players on the pitch at the moment? You’re only damaging yourself if you play like that. You only damage yourself and damage your own futures.

“Clarity’s all I need going forward and that’s taught me a little bit more about some of the personality.

“It’s irrelevant about the chances we created. We’ve said so many times about being good about creating, but five goals against. It’s irrelevant.

“You can’t look like a good footballing side at times if you can’t do the basic fundamentals of defending a football game.”

Exeter manager Gary Caldwell hailed a terrific team performance as his 10 men took a giant leap towards League One safety with a 1-0 win over Burton at St James Park.

Reece Cole struck the only goal of the game, in the 41st minute, before Exeter’s Zak Jules was sent off as the players walked down the tunnel at half-time for an incident unseen.

But Exeter dug deep and held firm as Burton pressed for an equaliser, although the Brewers were just as vulnerable on the counter-attack in an end-to-end encounter.

“I thought we started the game really well and we should have scored in the first 15 minutes, we created real clear-cut chances and if we score one of them then the game is totally different,” Caldwell said.

“We then got a bit frustrated midway through the half before we picked it up again and scored an amazing goal with how we wanted to play.

“I didn’t see the incident at half-time, I didn’t see that, but we lost a player and in the second half, the character, the determination and team spirit and understanding of how we wanted to play the game and see the game out was absolutely outstanding.

“They had one moment where they hit the bar, but they didn’t create much else and the way the people inside the stadium stood up in that last 15 minutes when everyone was on their knees – myself included – was fantastic. The players on the park were putting everything in and they needed the supporters to get behind them and they certainly did.”

Deji Oshilaja and John Brayford both hit the bar for Burton, while Antwoine Hackford passed up a good chance.

Frustrated Albion boss Martin Paterson said: “It’s very simple to explain – it was one of the softest goals I have ever seen conceded, a simple give-and-go that can’t happen in professional football; wing-backs getting done on the inside, a cut-back and people not tracking their runners.

“All of a sudden, we are 1-0 down and the problem then is that we don’t score goals. I don’t know the statistic or how many opportunities we had inside the six-yard box to put the ball in the back of the net, I have to be careful I am not hanging anyone personally out to dry, but it will be me that has to take it in the chin.

“I have no problem with that, but the issue is that we don’t take opportunities to score goals. We have to find a way and it is hard to explain because we had, in my opinion, five or six clear-cut opportunities at goal and have not scored one.

“It’s unacceptable from myself and from the team. We broke them down, we had a one-v-one, John Brayford hit the bar and there were crosses that should have been converted but we didn’t score and it’s hard to defend that.”

John Mousinho hailed a player he dropped for helping Portsmouth take another big step towards the Championship with a 1-0 win at Peterborough.

The Pompey chief left out two-goal midweek hero Kusini Yengi for a crunch clash at promotion rivals Peterborough.

But the Australian ace responded by climbing off the bench to grab the only goal that kept Portsmouth five points clear at the summit.

Yengi, sent on after Christian Saydee limped off in the first half, raced on to a pass from fellow substitute Gavin Whyte in the 77th minute to fire past Posh keeper Jed Steer.

Peterborough still look bound for the play-offs despite their five-match winning streak coming to an end.

Top-scorer Ephron Mason-Clark blasted against the bar midway through the first half as they drew a blank for just the third time all season in League One.

“I really feel for him,” said Mousinho about match-winner Yengi. “It wasn’t an easy decision to leave him out.

“He scored twice on Tuesday night and his overall performance was really good.

“He has been excellent whenever he has played and his goalscoring record is superb.

“It could have been a difficult one to take, but he was really professional about it when told yesterday. He trained really well in the afternoon, stayed positive around the place and thoroughly deserved his goal.

“At this stage of the season it is all about winning games, but it was a really good performance from us as well.

“The fans made it a special day. That was probably the best away atmosphere I’ve ever experienced.

“To be able to win the game and put in that performance was superb. It was pure relief at the final whistle.

“We’ve just got to keep our heads down and keep winning as many games as possible.”

Posh boss Darren Ferguson said: “I’m really disappointed with the result, but really proud of the performance.

“We were by far the better team on the day and they’re really lucky to come away with a win.

“If anyone from Portsmouth says otherwise, they are kidding themselves.

“We controlled large parts of the game. Some of the play was fantastic.

“But football can be a cruel game and we just couldn’t get that first goal.

“You always need that bit of luck in big games, but we didn’t have it when Ephron hit the underside of the bar.

“I’m gutted for the players as they didn’t deserve to lose the game. You’d rather win and have a bad performance like on Wednesday.

“But if we play like that in the last eight games, we’ll be fine. I’ve still got a lot of confidence that we’re in a good place.

“The break has come at a good time to freshen up for a last push.”

Max Sanders’ first-half goal lifted Leyton Orient back into the League One promotion picture with a 1-0 win at Stevenage that saw the hosts drop out of the play-off positions.

Sanders scored the only goal of the game in the 16th minute when, after being found in the box, he shifted the ball onto his right foot before sliding a shot under Craig MacGillivray.

Stevenage striker Jamie Reid thought he had pulled his side level 24 minutes in but referee Craig Hicks disallowed his goal for an apparent handball against Jordan Roberts.

Boro’s top scorer threatened once more when he flicked Dan Butler’s free-kick into the hands of visiting goalkeeper Sol Brynn as Orient survived again.

Home boss Steve Evans made four substitutions at half-time in a bid to turn things around.

However, Stevenage could only muster three hopeful efforts in the second half, from Reid, Roberts and Nick Freeman, as they dropped to eighth in the table, just three points above Orient.

Financially-troubled Reading put aside their off-field worries with a 4-0 home win over fellow League One strugglers Cambridge.

In a scrappy first half, Reading opened up a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from striker Sam Smith – his 12th of the season – and winger Femi Azeez.

Well-struck second-half efforts from Lewis Wing and Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan secured the comprehensive victory.

Reading, still beset by constant cash-flow problems under owner Dai Yongge, began slowly against Cambridge.

United defender Michael Morrison found space and nodded narrowly wide early on from a Liam Bennett cross.

But Royals went ahead when Cambridge’s James Gibbons made a hash of an intended clearance from a Harvey Knibbs cross and Smith pounced for his fifth goal in as many games.

Reading increased their advantage in the second minute of first-half stoppage time when Azeez ran through unchallenged on a quick break and beat keeper Jack Stevens with a fierce near-post shot.

Cambridge could have halved the gap soon after the interval, with home keeper Joel Pereira making a superb double save to deny Elias Kachunga from close range.

Pereira’s heroics proved crucial, with Wing effectively making the game safe for Royals when firing over United’s substitute keeper Will Mannion in the 62nd minute.

Ehibhatiomhan struck with five minutes left, lashing past Mannion from the edge of the area for his 10th goal of the campaign.

Promotion-chasing Barnsley failed to capitalise on their dominance as they were held to a 0-0 draw at home to relegation-battling Cheltenham in League One.

The Tykes slipped seven points off the automatic promotion places and – with the four teams above them all playing each other – missed the chance to move up to fourth.

Cheltenham remain in the bottom four and are without a win in six, but the draw edged them to within five points of safety.

Jon Russell thought he had put the hosts ahead after four minutes when he turned home Luca Connell’s free-kick, but the assistant referee had raised his flag for offside.

The Tykes countered dangerously in the 31st minute as Adam Phillips slotted through to Sam Cosgrove, but his low effort from the edge of the box was always curling wide.

Cheltenham almost took the lead against the run of play in the 34th minute when Tom Pett curled one towards the bottom right corner from the edge of the box and prompted a smart save from Liam Roberts.

Russell should have broken the deadlock four minutes after the break when he was found at the back post by Cosgrove but dinked his close-range effort over the crossbar.

Barnsley substitute Devante Cole had an opportunity to make it 1-0 with eight minutes to play when a smart cross from Phillips gave the forward a free header inside the box, but he nodded wide.

Oxford brushed aside Port Vale with a comfortable 2-0 victory at Vale Park.

Ciaron Brown lashed home and Josh Murphy whipped a left-footed effort past Connor Ripley as the U’s dominated throughout.

Murphy showed early glimpses of his quality down the left before playing in Billy Bodin. Vale’s Dan Jones on the line swept the effort clear.

After 16 minutes, Brown notched the visitors in front. The defender latched on to a loose ball and fired home from the edge of the six-yard box.

With Vale pinned in their own half, Ripley got two hands to Elliott Moore’s flick midway through the first half.

After 49 minutes, Murphy doubled Oxford’s advantage. He skipped inside on to his left foot and his cross-shot evaded everyone and nestled in the corner.

Owen Dale zipped an effort wide, and Murphy was sluggish in getting a shot away, as Oxford sought a third.

Baylee Dipepa was denied a consolation for the hosts when he turned a strike into a crowd of Oxford shirts.

Kane Wilson’s header gave Derby a 1-0 victory over promotion rivals Bolton at a packed Pride Park.

Wilson struck with 12 minutes remaining to earn the Rams a four-point cushion in the battle for automatic promotion.

In front of over 32,000, the biggest attendance in League One this season, Bolton had the first chance when Nathanael Ogbeta crossed and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson’s header was brilliantly saved by Joe Wildsmith.

Derby striker Dwight Gayle limped off in the 21st minute but the home side had a good chance soon after from a Joe Ward free-kick which Curtis Nelson headed over.

Bolton ended the first half strongly and Derby made three changes for the second, although it was the visitors who threatened with Bodvarsson forcing Wildsmith into another good save.

Wildsmith denied George Thomason in the 64th minute but against the run of play it was Derby who broke the deadlock when Wilson headed in Callum Elder’s pinpoint corner.

The home side protected their lead despite fierce late pressure to leave Bolton third and without a league victory at Derby since 1981.