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Dion Charles is happy to be a chaser of lost causes at Wanderers, having been one himself.
Twice cast into the non-league during his football career, the 26-year-old has battled back to become a full international and now a terrace favourite at the UniBol.
Charles has enjoyed a dream start to his career at Bolton on the pitch, scoring five times in his first nine appearances, and earning rave reviews for his unique non-stop running style.
And he says the hard graft which also helped him score 20 times at Accrington Stanley last season is a direct result of playing in the Badlands of the Conference and Conference North with the likes of Southport, Fylde and Halifax.
“The hardest one was when I left Blackpool at 18,” he told The Bolton News. “It was like ‘welcome to the big bad world’ at the time.
“You are in a cloud when you are a kid. You don’t really realise what is waiting for you outside of football so it was a really harsh wake-up call for me.
“I realised I had to work hard to get to where I wanted to be. And when it happened again at Fleetwood I was that bit older. It was still hard but I was confident in my own ability and I knew that I would eventually get back to a better level.”
Charles was signed at Southport in 2018 by a famous Bolton centre-forward, Kevin Davies, and picked up some advice during his time on the coast which have helped him in the last few years.
“I used to sit with him and ask him stories of how his career started and how he played and just take little tips off him here and there and add them to my game and it’s working out for me so far,” he said.
“In the non-league it is sink or swim. It is a big bad world – those things happen. You just need to take every opportunity.
“I came here and have worked hard to get to where I am. I appreciate everything that I’ve got around me and I will use that to make myself a better player.
“That’s how I am as a person - I’m never satisfied. I want more and I always want to better myself.
“If I score 10 goals, I’ll be angry I didn’t get 11. I always want to better myself.”
Charles scored a superb goal to win the game at Shrewsbury, and also cap the arrival of his daughter, Hattie, who had been born just 48 hours earlier.
It marked the start of a purple patch for the Northern Ireland man, which didn’t even slow when he was dropped to the bench for the midweek game at Burton.
Ian Evatt was given a gentle reminder by 1,500 Bolton supporters that they wanted to see Charles in action – but the man himself is happy to play whatever part he is asked to play.
“It was amazing the support I was getting from the fans, but ultimately it’s the manager’s decision,” he said. “He picks a team, and rightly so, and when I am given my opportunity I will show what I can do.
“I am a striker, and I will always be greedy. I want to score as many goals as possible. I want to play as many games, but if the manager thinks he needs to change it then that is totally fine by me.
“I will show what I can do when I get the opportunity to come on the pitch and I did that on Tuesday.” Charles is looking forward to returning to the UniBol for a double header against Wimbledon and Lincoln, two sides with diametrically opposite footballing principles.
Most of all, he will be delighted to see a plush green surface after the sand pit at Burton on Tuesday.
“Definitely,” he smiled. “We will look to impose our style on the game and it will be a different one to Tuesday night. But we’re back at home to we have to make sure we are at it.
“Lincoln will be different again but iIt doesn't bother me. Each game is different but I work hard and hopefully get a few chances and stick them away.”
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