KYLE Dempsey isn’t contemplating the form book as he prepares for a play-off reunion against Barnsley.

Wanderers’ semi-final opponents limped over the line, winning just two of their last 12 games, having spent much of the season looking strong contenders for an automatic spot.

The slump eventually cost Neil Collins his job after 53 games in charge, with Martin Devaney installed as a temporary fix. Reports in South Yorkshire suggest there will be no permanent appointment before the first leg either.

Dempsey played in last season’s play-off semi-final defeat against the same opposition and is determined that Wanderers can provide a better showing this time around.

Barnsley may have conceded 25 goals in their last 12 games but he is not banking on them being any less of a challenge.

“People have been talking about their form but I think it all goes out of the window in the play-offs,” he told The Bolton News. “It’s a two-legged game and anything can happen on the day.

“We have to make sure that the moments in these big games are on our side, it is on us to take care of business.”

Wanderers had targeted the top two but lost the advantage over Derby County with a few games to go, which forced them to contemplate the possibility of another play-off campaign.

There remained a sliver of hope on the final day that the Rams could stumble at home against Carlisle United but it was quickly extinguished by an early goal, news which seeped through to Bolton’s game against Peterborough and made for a rather damp squib of a second-half performance.

Dempsey believes the squad are mentally prepared for the play-offs despite the disappointment of missing out on automatic promotion.

“That is what we have focussed on over the last couple of weeks,” he said. “We have obviously been the ones chasing and we have known in the back of our mind that it was probably looking like play-offs. Now it is just about turning up and delivering what we know we are capable of doing.”

Last year’s defeat at Oakwell spelled the end of the season and triggered some changes in the Wanderers squad to make them a more potent attacking unit.

They have scored 116 goals in all competitions during 2023/24, 86 of which were scored in the league, which represents the fourth highest total in the club’s history.

The Whites now need four more to match the total goals scored by Colin Todd’s promotion winning side in 1996/97.

Plenty has changed since Dempsey and Wanderers walked off the pitch at Barnsley 12 months ago but the midfielder believes the result did fuel a reaction to improve within the players who stayed on this season.

“It was the disappointment we had to deal with because we’d gone into those games with huge confidence,” he said. “Suffering that defeat over two legs really motivated the group, it made us hungrier this season. We want to make sure it doesn’t happen again and that is the mindset that we must take into the semi-final.”

Waiting for the winner over two legs is a showpiece game against Wembley against either Peterborough United or Oxford United.

Wanderers have recent experience of winning in the national stadium having lifted the Papa Johns Trophy last season with a stunning 4-0 victory against Plymouth Argyle, a team which went on to comfortably win promotion to the Championship.

Dempsey admits the prospect of a return is a powerful incentive, but he wants to make sure attention is fixed firmly on the job at hand.

“We experienced the Papa Johns, the day, how great it was for everyone’s families and friends, the fans and the club, and we want to do it all again,” he said.

“The first job is making sure we show the ‘real us’ over two legs. If we do that, I think we’ll get the chance to show it all again at Wembley.

“We want to get out of this league. That has been the focus since the start of the year.

“We still have that chance but it is all on us, we have to make sure we do ourselves justice over the two games and then we can start thinking about what comes next.”

Wanderers look likely to be taking on a Barnsley side without a permanent manager, with Martin Devaney still in temporary charge at time of writing.

Reports have suggested that the South Yorkshire club have been unable to get a work permit for their number one target, Austrian, Dominik Thalhammer, and may now wait until the summer before trying again.