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There was no tie, a couple of shirt buttons looked hastily tied, and there was something of a dazed expression on Kyle Dempsey’s face as he collapsed into a chair in the media suite, less than an hour after leaving the pitch on Tuesday night.
You could forgive him a moment’s untidiness. For the previous 90-plus minutes he had put in a lung-bursting workload that had helped Wanderers preserve victory against Forest Green, playing with 10 men for two thirds of the game.
Asked to put Dempsey’s effort into context, Ian Evatt said the running stats for the game would have beaten a club record had there been a full quota of players to record.
But on the night, the midfielder admitted it was hard to put such a complicated night into words, when the only thing he really wanted was to get home for some good sleep.
Dempsey is in a good run of personal form. And some would say that is overdue, himself included.
Since signing on January deadline day 2021 from Gillingham he has showed occasional flashes of the all-action player who had often caught the eye against Bolton in the past. Too often, however, his momentum was interrupted by injury.
Recently, the 27-year-old has shown a renewed attitude. Big performances against Forest Green and Barnsley have book-ended his longest first-team run at Bolton, and while he still has a court appearance hanging over his head – connected to an alleged assault in Cumbria last summer – Dempsey has heeded his manager’s advice that football, for now, should be his only focus.
If the midfielder did turn over a new leaf in 2023, then he is desperate to continue in such positive form.
“I knew what I signed up for here, the history, the fanbase, and I have always just wanted to show the best of myself and, unfortunately, I haven’t been able to do that in the opening stages of my Bolton career,” he said.
“I think fans are starting to see the real side of me now. I’d said all along that I just needed a run of games, injury free.
“I’m feeling really good about my game and getting more confident as time goes on, so I just need to keep going now.”
Leaving aside the defeat at Derby County, Wanderers’ own form has been encouraging, particularly at home.
Dempsey recognises that it will be finding that consistency on the road that could make the difference between the play-offs, or missing out entirely.
“It is about finding those results for us because we know we can get them here,” he said, the Whites having corrected their course against Forest Green.
“We were disappointed at the weekend at Derby County. It wasn't a proper showing from us.
“We’d had that conversation through the week about getting back to the team we are, possession-based, being brave on the ball, always wanting it. And in that first half-hour I think you saw we were there – we were moving it quick, everyone looked comfortable.
“The game changed, obviously, after the sending off but I think we can take positives from the way we reacted and then hopefully pick up where we left off at the weekend now.
“It is just consistency now. We do that and we are a challenge for anything in this league.
“We have played all the top teams now. There isn’t one who have played us off the park.”
Wanderers have often been criticised for having a soft centre in the past – but Dempsey reckoned the way they dug in with 10 men against Forest Green showed they are made of tougher stuff.
“When something like that happens and you go down to 10 men it is about finding a way to win. The resilience and togetherness of the group got us three points,” he said.
“I didn’t really know what was going on, there was a lot of confusion.
“Obviously you have to switch on right away, rally the lads, get everyone round you.
“I think we showed there is another side to our game. We can play the pretty football but when it comes to a game like that then you have to dig in, and we have got that as well.”
He also believes the mix-up that led to Dion Charles being sent off instead of Elias Kachunga could be solved with the introduction of VAR in divisions outside the Premier League.
“I think an incident like that occurs and if it is dealt with in the right manner, then the confusion is gone,” he added.
“Instead, there was a stop in play, there’s animosity, everyone is arguing. So if there is a pause to let that happen, then get on with it, I’d be happy.”
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