The last couple of days gave Steven Schumacher and his players some time to digest a bizarre evening against the Millers, in which 36 attempts were rained in on Cameron Dawson’s goal, seven of which were on target.

Only Wycombe have come close to Bolton’s wastefulness so far in League One, putting 33 shots on the Shrewsbury goal – seven of which were on target - when the two sides fought out a goalless draw at Adams Park at the start of this month.

That Bolton emerged from their game against Rotherham without even a point to show for their dominance was a bitter pill to swallow, and it now remains to be seen how that disappointment will affect their next outing at Barnsley this weekend.

Schumacher reasoned that the result was not a freak occurrence, and that Bolton’s profligacy had not only been an issue for most of his time with the club, but also his predecessor.

The stats back up his view and that fact that Wanderers have missed 58 so-called ‘big chances’ this season has been magnified by the fact that this has also been a campaign where their usual supply of clean sheets and defensive stability has also wavered.

A table showing the most shots in a single League One game this season (Image: Camerasport)

Schumacher picked through the debris of the Rotherham defeat with his players on Thursday morning but won’t have reached any different conclusion than he did moments after the final whistle. A team which consistently creates chances simply has to put more of them in the back of the net if they are to meet their targets.

On too many occasions this season Bolton have dropped points despite having more territorial possession, more shots on goal, more touches inside the opposition penalty box – and most other metrics which normal add up to a winning performance.

In terms of ‘big chances’ Bolton are not the worst offenders in the division. That dubious honour falls to Huddersfield Town, who have wasted 63 such opportunities. Blackpool (62), Stockport (62) and Birmingham City (61) have also registered more than the Whites – although the latter, whose promotion was confirmed earlier this week, have made up for it in other ways.

Only Huddersfield (542) have taken more shots than Bolton (541) this season, but it is when you filter out the wayward efforts that the real issues are revealed.

Wanderers are ninth for total shots on target (176) and 17th in the division for the ratio of their shots on target – adding up to just 32.5 per cent. Curiously, automatic promotion chasing Wrexham are placed lower, with a miserly 32 per cent.

Inevitably, when discussing goal return, the spotlight falls upon the strikers. Aaron Collins and John McAtee are effectively the only two fit striker options available to Schumacher at present with Dion Charles sold to Huddersfield in January, Victor Adeboyejo injured and Cardiff City loanee Kion Etete still a way off top shape.

Counting league games only, Collins has scored 10 times this season from 84 shots at goal, 32 of which have been on target. His conversion rate stands at 11.9 per cent, which is the lowest return from any of the 17 players in League One who are currently in double figures.

Collins is also joint-second on Opta’s list for ‘big chances missed’ with 17 to his name in the league, two behind Stockport County’s Kyle Wooton. He is also four ahead of former team-mate Dion Charles, who led this particular metric for a long time this season in Bolton colours.

Ex-Barnsley loanee John McAtee’s stats are marginally better. His 11 league goals have come from 56 shots at goal, 22 of which have been on target. His conversion rate of 19.64 per cent places him ninth among the same group of leading scorers in the division, and he is ranked 36th on ‘big chances missed’ with eight.

Of the other Wanderers players, few show up at the high end of the list. Eoin Toal and Alex Murphy both have conversion rates of higher than 25 per cent but from seven and four shots, respectively. Only Joel Randall’s return of 13.95 per cent from 43 shots, 17 on target, would put him in the divisional top 40.