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WANDERERS jetted off to Austria on Sunday as preparations for the new campaign step up a notch for Neil Lennon's men.
A party of 26 players have made the trip including new boys Ben Amos, Gary Madine and Derik Osede as well as trialist Stephen Dobbie.
Fit-again Zach Clough and Max Clayton will also be hoping for some game time when the Whites face their first match action on Saturday against Sturm Graz.
And there will no doubt be a contingent of fans backing them during that game.
Continental pre-season trips are nothing new for the Whites and recent years have seen them travel to the USA in 2010 and 2011 and to Scandinavia just 12 months ago.
Dougie Freedman held a training camp in Spain two years ago at the start of his first full season at the helm while Owen Coyle's last pre-season with the club in 2012 was a shorter trip north of the border to Scotland to face games against Ayr United, Hamilton Academical and Falkirk.
This time around there are just two games planned during the Austria trip with the main focus at this early stage of pre-season being on training and building up fitness.
Nevertheless, games also help with that and can give Lennon a first opportunity to look at how his players are shaping up – particularly the new additions – and it is also a chance for Dobbie to impress away from the training field.
But will the results have any bearing on how the season will pan out?
Last season Wanderers results on their pre-season travels saw them open up with a 1-1 draw against Danish side Brondby – Craig Davies levelling from the penalty spot after ex-Whites striker Johan Elmander had netted for the hosts.
Liam Feeney scored the only goal against FC Vestsjaelland before Swedish side Mjallby inflicted a 3-2 defeat after Jermaine Beckford and Rob Hall had given the Whites a comfortable lead.
A mixed bag of results on tour was followed by a poor start to the Championship campaign and within a couple of months, Freedman was replaced by Lennon.
The same fate befell Coyle two years earlier after the trip to Scotland when unimpressive 1-1 draws against Ayr and Falkirk came either side of a 2-0 defeat to Hamilton. Coyle was also out of a job a few months into the following campaign.
A year earlier, however, Coyle's Wanderers had won two out of their three matches Stateside against Houston Dynamo and Orlando City but would go on to endure a painful campaign that culminated in relegation from the Premier League.
So continental friendly results are not often a good barometer as to how the season will go.
The main aim as always in pre-season is to get fit and ready for the big kick off and that will be Lennon and Co's sole focus during their nine days in Austria.
The full Wanderers travelling squad is: Ben Amos, Max Clayton, Zach Clough, Neil Danns, Mark Davies, Dorian Dervite, Stephen Dobbie, Liam Feeney, Ross Fitzsimons, Rob Hall, Emile Heskey, Medo Kamara, Andy Kellett, Gary Madine, Niall Maher, Dean Moxey, Derik Osede, Darren Pratley, Jay Spearing, Quade Taylor, Oscar Threlkeld, Liam Trotter, Filip Twardzik, Josh Vela, Tom Walker, Hayden White.
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/13373977.Pre_season_trips_are_not_always_an_indicator_of_how_a_campaign_will_go/
A party of 26 players have made the trip including new boys Ben Amos, Gary Madine and Derik Osede as well as trialist Stephen Dobbie.
Fit-again Zach Clough and Max Clayton will also be hoping for some game time when the Whites face their first match action on Saturday against Sturm Graz.
And there will no doubt be a contingent of fans backing them during that game.
Continental pre-season trips are nothing new for the Whites and recent years have seen them travel to the USA in 2010 and 2011 and to Scandinavia just 12 months ago.
Dougie Freedman held a training camp in Spain two years ago at the start of his first full season at the helm while Owen Coyle's last pre-season with the club in 2012 was a shorter trip north of the border to Scotland to face games against Ayr United, Hamilton Academical and Falkirk.
This time around there are just two games planned during the Austria trip with the main focus at this early stage of pre-season being on training and building up fitness.
Nevertheless, games also help with that and can give Lennon a first opportunity to look at how his players are shaping up – particularly the new additions – and it is also a chance for Dobbie to impress away from the training field.
But will the results have any bearing on how the season will pan out?
Last season Wanderers results on their pre-season travels saw them open up with a 1-1 draw against Danish side Brondby – Craig Davies levelling from the penalty spot after ex-Whites striker Johan Elmander had netted for the hosts.
Liam Feeney scored the only goal against FC Vestsjaelland before Swedish side Mjallby inflicted a 3-2 defeat after Jermaine Beckford and Rob Hall had given the Whites a comfortable lead.
A mixed bag of results on tour was followed by a poor start to the Championship campaign and within a couple of months, Freedman was replaced by Lennon.
The same fate befell Coyle two years earlier after the trip to Scotland when unimpressive 1-1 draws against Ayr and Falkirk came either side of a 2-0 defeat to Hamilton. Coyle was also out of a job a few months into the following campaign.
A year earlier, however, Coyle's Wanderers had won two out of their three matches Stateside against Houston Dynamo and Orlando City but would go on to endure a painful campaign that culminated in relegation from the Premier League.
So continental friendly results are not often a good barometer as to how the season will go.
The main aim as always in pre-season is to get fit and ready for the big kick off and that will be Lennon and Co's sole focus during their nine days in Austria.
The full Wanderers travelling squad is: Ben Amos, Max Clayton, Zach Clough, Neil Danns, Mark Davies, Dorian Dervite, Stephen Dobbie, Liam Feeney, Ross Fitzsimons, Rob Hall, Emile Heskey, Medo Kamara, Andy Kellett, Gary Madine, Niall Maher, Dean Moxey, Derik Osede, Darren Pratley, Jay Spearing, Quade Taylor, Oscar Threlkeld, Liam Trotter, Filip Twardzik, Josh Vela, Tom Walker, Hayden White.
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/13373977.Pre_season_trips_are_not_always_an_indicator_of_how_a_campaign_will_go/
