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NEIL Lennon will be taking every precaution possible to ensure Wanderers do not suffer another slow start next season.
The Whites boss has mapped out a pre-season schedule which will include five UK-based friendlies and a nine-day fitness camp in Austria in an effort to get his squad in top shape.
It appears Lennon’s side will take on Sturm Graz on July 11 – a fixture which is already being advertised by the Austrian club’s YouTube TV channel – along with one more training game on the continent.
Having spent time in the bottom three in the early part of each of their last three seasons, every effort is being made to make sure that is not the case again this campaign.
Lennon will bring his players back for fitness testing two weeks from today and will be boosted by the return of players like Zach Clough, David Wheater and Darren Pratley, who were missing injured at the end of last season.
And the Whites boss recognises the importance of getting his preparations absolutely right for the big kick-off in August.
“I think there’s more importance on this pre-season at Bolton than I ever had at Celtic,” he said.
“We haven’t started the last two seasons well. I’m not saying there’s extra pressure on us but to start it well would be good, hence pre-season there is a little bit more of an onus on that this time.”
Wanderers have laboured at the start of their last three seasons in the Championship – two of which have hastened the exit of managers Owen Coyle in 2012 and Dougie Freedman in 2014.
In between, the Whites made a truly horrendous start under Freedman in 2013 – their worst since 1903 – and put themselves at a significant disadvantage.
Lennon dropped several hints in the last few months that he was not happy with some of his players’ conditioning and has vowed to build a more robust squad for next season.
His new-look squad will report back at the end of this month to begin their build-up, with the manager placing great importance on the work they will get done in the summer.
“We’re coming in completely fresh,” he told the club. “We’ve got a good six or seven-week programme in place. The players know what’s required of them when they come back on June 29.
“Then it will be a chance to bed down a platform for the majority of the season.”
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/13331191.Wanderers_boss_Neil_Lennon_puts_pre_season_plans_in_place_to_hit_the_ground_running/
The Whites boss has mapped out a pre-season schedule which will include five UK-based friendlies and a nine-day fitness camp in Austria in an effort to get his squad in top shape.
It appears Lennon’s side will take on Sturm Graz on July 11 – a fixture which is already being advertised by the Austrian club’s YouTube TV channel – along with one more training game on the continent.
Having spent time in the bottom three in the early part of each of their last three seasons, every effort is being made to make sure that is not the case again this campaign.
Lennon will bring his players back for fitness testing two weeks from today and will be boosted by the return of players like Zach Clough, David Wheater and Darren Pratley, who were missing injured at the end of last season.
And the Whites boss recognises the importance of getting his preparations absolutely right for the big kick-off in August.
“I think there’s more importance on this pre-season at Bolton than I ever had at Celtic,” he said.
“We haven’t started the last two seasons well. I’m not saying there’s extra pressure on us but to start it well would be good, hence pre-season there is a little bit more of an onus on that this time.”
Wanderers have laboured at the start of their last three seasons in the Championship – two of which have hastened the exit of managers Owen Coyle in 2012 and Dougie Freedman in 2014.
In between, the Whites made a truly horrendous start under Freedman in 2013 – their worst since 1903 – and put themselves at a significant disadvantage.
Lennon dropped several hints in the last few months that he was not happy with some of his players’ conditioning and has vowed to build a more robust squad for next season.
His new-look squad will report back at the end of this month to begin their build-up, with the manager placing great importance on the work they will get done in the summer.
“We’re coming in completely fresh,” he told the club. “We’ve got a good six or seven-week programme in place. The players know what’s required of them when they come back on June 29.
“Then it will be a chance to bed down a platform for the majority of the season.”
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/13331191.Wanderers_boss_Neil_Lennon_puts_pre_season_plans_in_place_to_hit_the_ground_running/
