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Ben Amos believes financial woes at Wanderers have had a galvanising effect on the dressing room.
As senior players remained unpaid last month, and talk of administration once again reared its ugly head, the performance against Brentford gave fans a slim ray of sunshine on which to cling.
Players gathered in a meeting yesterday, mediated by the PFA, where Trevor Birch outlined the “short-term funding issue” that stopped wages going out on Monday, just hours before kick-off.
It is hoped the £750,000 shortfall will be recovered quickly but Amos says the situation will not distract the players from their duties on the pitch.
“The whole thing isn’t ideal,” he told The Bolton News. “But I think the way the lads have responded has been brilliant; if anything it has brought us all together.
“It is one thing not being paid on time and losing, but another to not be paid on time and win, or get a result.
“All we can do is keep trying to pick up points. We have been told it will be resolved and all we can control is what we do out there.”
Neil Lennon said after the game he had been advised the cash-flow problems could become an issue last week but it was not until the day of the game he was forced to tackle the issue head on.
“A couple of the lads had noticed early on in the day and the manager came in to say there would be a meeting and it would all be discussed,” Amos added. “We just want to get the club out of trouble the best we can on the pitch and all the other stuff is outside noise.
“He said it was going to get resolved. This situation is new to me. I had not prepared for it to happen. It is not something you anticipate happening. Having said that, what can I do?
“We have got to control what we can do as a group of lads and stick together. Hopefully, we can get a siege mentally and get ourselves out of it.”
It is a situation he could hardly have imagined coming through the ranks at Manchester United, or indeed when he signed a four-year deal with the Whites in the summer.
But when asked if he was sold short on the idea of playing for Bolton, the 25-year-old was firm in his reply.
“I was here last season and saw what the club was capable of,” he said. “But for whatever reason it hasn't quite worked.
“There have been a lot of games, though, when we could have won comfortably by four or five goals; I knew what I was buying into and I think if the background noise can get resolved we can push on and look forward. No regrets, not at all.”
In what has been a desperately unhappy few months on and off the pitch, Lennon’s squad has received its fair share of criticism.
But Amos maintains commitment in the dressing room is often underestimated from those looking in.
And though he accepts results have been far from satisfactory, he says every effort is being made to put things right.
“I have been a fan myself and it is easy to make comments,” he said. “The fans have stuck behind us.
“At other clubs fans might have been making a lot of noise a lot earlier. We are grateful for their support because everyone is trying their best. Hopefully, if they stick behind us, we will pull ourselves out of it.
“The atmosphere was great at times against Brentford; a couple of times when we went on the counter attack there was a roar. That gives the lads a lift when maybe they are getting a bit tired. They just need that kick of adrenaline.
“We know the fans deserve much better than they have been getting on the pitch. Every single player is aware of that. We are trying our best every game, every training session to put it right. And if we keep doing that, hopefully it will turn round.”
Cardiff City visit the Macron on Saturday with Amos looking for a repeat of last season’s morale-boosting 3-0 win.
“I think we need to do the same as we did against Brentford, to block out everything else and give it our all,” he added.
“Hopefully that will give us three points this time.”
Source
As senior players remained unpaid last month, and talk of administration once again reared its ugly head, the performance against Brentford gave fans a slim ray of sunshine on which to cling.
Players gathered in a meeting yesterday, mediated by the PFA, where Trevor Birch outlined the “short-term funding issue” that stopped wages going out on Monday, just hours before kick-off.
It is hoped the £750,000 shortfall will be recovered quickly but Amos says the situation will not distract the players from their duties on the pitch.
“The whole thing isn’t ideal,” he told The Bolton News. “But I think the way the lads have responded has been brilliant; if anything it has brought us all together.
“It is one thing not being paid on time and losing, but another to not be paid on time and win, or get a result.
“All we can do is keep trying to pick up points. We have been told it will be resolved and all we can control is what we do out there.”
Neil Lennon said after the game he had been advised the cash-flow problems could become an issue last week but it was not until the day of the game he was forced to tackle the issue head on.
“A couple of the lads had noticed early on in the day and the manager came in to say there would be a meeting and it would all be discussed,” Amos added. “We just want to get the club out of trouble the best we can on the pitch and all the other stuff is outside noise.
“He said it was going to get resolved. This situation is new to me. I had not prepared for it to happen. It is not something you anticipate happening. Having said that, what can I do?
“We have got to control what we can do as a group of lads and stick together. Hopefully, we can get a siege mentally and get ourselves out of it.”
It is a situation he could hardly have imagined coming through the ranks at Manchester United, or indeed when he signed a four-year deal with the Whites in the summer.
But when asked if he was sold short on the idea of playing for Bolton, the 25-year-old was firm in his reply.
“I was here last season and saw what the club was capable of,” he said. “But for whatever reason it hasn't quite worked.
“There have been a lot of games, though, when we could have won comfortably by four or five goals; I knew what I was buying into and I think if the background noise can get resolved we can push on and look forward. No regrets, not at all.”
In what has been a desperately unhappy few months on and off the pitch, Lennon’s squad has received its fair share of criticism.
But Amos maintains commitment in the dressing room is often underestimated from those looking in.
And though he accepts results have been far from satisfactory, he says every effort is being made to put things right.
“I have been a fan myself and it is easy to make comments,” he said. “The fans have stuck behind us.
“At other clubs fans might have been making a lot of noise a lot earlier. We are grateful for their support because everyone is trying their best. Hopefully, if they stick behind us, we will pull ourselves out of it.
“The atmosphere was great at times against Brentford; a couple of times when we went on the counter attack there was a roar. That gives the lads a lift when maybe they are getting a bit tired. They just need that kick of adrenaline.
“We know the fans deserve much better than they have been getting on the pitch. Every single player is aware of that. We are trying our best every game, every training session to put it right. And if we keep doing that, hopefully it will turn round.”
Cardiff City visit the Macron on Saturday with Amos looking for a repeat of last season’s morale-boosting 3-0 win.
“I think we need to do the same as we did against Brentford, to block out everything else and give it our all,” he added.
“Hopefully that will give us three points this time.”
Source
