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Neil Lennon believes Monday night’s debacle at Bournemouth showed some of his players must be fitter next season.
The Wanderers boss has made up his mind about which players will stay, and who will leave the Macron this summer and has already offered contracts to Adam Bogdan, Matt Mills, Emile Heskey, Darren Pratley and Eidur Gudjohnsen.
But he has warned those who stick around he expects major improvement on what he has seen in the last few months, accusing some of “dragging their heels” in the run-in.
“Of the players who’ll stay on, some of them need to be fitter,” he told The Bolton News.
“I looked round the team at Bournemouth and some of them looked lightweight, they were heavy-legged; that shouldn’t be the case.
“Physically we didn’t look as strong as Bournemouth and that needs to change. That’s what we’ll endeavour to do.
“I’m not looking to fill the team up with heavyweights but we do need some pace and power in the team and that’s been the case for a while.”
Lennon is understood to be planning a summer conditioning camp, potentially to be held in Austria, similar to the one used by Gary Megson in his time at Bolton.
The Whites boss is determined to ensure next season’s squad is more durable and that he gets more games from some of his more injury-prone stars.
“We need to get stronger, we need to get fitter, we need to be more robust,” said the manager, who has earmarked at least five new signings in the summer.
“If you look at the two teams the other night, seven or eight of the Bournemouth players have played mid-30-plus games this season. They are the players you need in the Championship.
“I look at my statistics and some players have played five, 10, 15 games. That’s not good enough. There are too many players on the treatment table. There are too many players who are perhaps a little bit short at this level.
“We know what we have to do. It will take a lot of hard work.”
Lennon was disappointed with the performance against Bournemouth, as the home side all-but clinched a place in the Premier League, but insists his plans for the squad have not changed in the last couple of months.
“I’m not going to refer to what we did on one night against a top side, this has been my thinking since I walked through the door really,” he said.
“This is one game in isolation. Over the last few weeks we’ve been a bit better against other sides at the top of the division so our job for this summer hasn’t really changed at all.”
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The Wanderers boss has made up his mind about which players will stay, and who will leave the Macron this summer and has already offered contracts to Adam Bogdan, Matt Mills, Emile Heskey, Darren Pratley and Eidur Gudjohnsen.
But he has warned those who stick around he expects major improvement on what he has seen in the last few months, accusing some of “dragging their heels” in the run-in.
“Of the players who’ll stay on, some of them need to be fitter,” he told The Bolton News.
“I looked round the team at Bournemouth and some of them looked lightweight, they were heavy-legged; that shouldn’t be the case.
“Physically we didn’t look as strong as Bournemouth and that needs to change. That’s what we’ll endeavour to do.
“I’m not looking to fill the team up with heavyweights but we do need some pace and power in the team and that’s been the case for a while.”
Lennon is understood to be planning a summer conditioning camp, potentially to be held in Austria, similar to the one used by Gary Megson in his time at Bolton.
The Whites boss is determined to ensure next season’s squad is more durable and that he gets more games from some of his more injury-prone stars.
“We need to get stronger, we need to get fitter, we need to be more robust,” said the manager, who has earmarked at least five new signings in the summer.
“If you look at the two teams the other night, seven or eight of the Bournemouth players have played mid-30-plus games this season. They are the players you need in the Championship.
“I look at my statistics and some players have played five, 10, 15 games. That’s not good enough. There are too many players on the treatment table. There are too many players who are perhaps a little bit short at this level.
“We know what we have to do. It will take a lot of hard work.”
Lennon was disappointed with the performance against Bournemouth, as the home side all-but clinched a place in the Premier League, but insists his plans for the squad have not changed in the last couple of months.
“I’m not going to refer to what we did on one night against a top side, this has been my thinking since I walked through the door really,” he said.
“This is one game in isolation. Over the last few weeks we’ve been a bit better against other sides at the top of the division so our job for this summer hasn’t really changed at all.”
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