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Dougie Freedman comes face-to-face with Wanderers again tomorrow insisting he did his best to arrest the slide of the football club during his time in charge.
The Scot, who will soon celebrate a year at the helm of Nottingham Forest, failed to win over fans in a stormy 18-month spell at the Macron Stadium.
His reign brought about a huge change in personnel, including the exits of established stars such as Kevin Davies, Martin Petrov, Zat Knight and Chris Eagles, which were designed to cut costs.
But as he comes up against a Wanderers side in the midst of a financial crisis, Freedman says he did all he could to make a success of his time at the club.
“We did our best at Bolton,” he said. “Myself and Phil Gartside made the decision that we had to slash the wage bill, which the fans did not really see. We were working in a market of free transfers, while trying to make cutbacks.
“It is disappointing to see them where they are now, but I am a professional guy and we will go out to win the game, to make sure we emerge with three points.”
Freedman has anchored his side with one of his former Wanderers charges, Matt Mills, who was released by Neil Lennon last summer in a cost-cutting exercise of his own.
Former Bolton captain Mills has also proved reliable at the other end of the pitch, weighing in with five goals this season including an equaliser against Birmingham last time out.
“I know we are going to talk about his goal, which is right, but his defensive displays are so consistent, that is his biggest strength,” said Freedman after the game. “He is here to defend and he does that very well.
“He has really shone this season. We knew what we were getting with him, but he is a leader, he is a hard worker and he sets the example. He epitomises what we want to see in training.
“He comes in, he does his work and the best thing I like about him is that, win, lose or draw, you know he is going to be one of the first ones in the next morning, ready to go again. He will look you in the eye and go to work.
“When you get that around your club, you are on your way to success. There have been a few failures at the club in recent years. But with players of Matt Mills’ character, you learn from those mistakes and failures. We want that in our team.”
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The Scot, who will soon celebrate a year at the helm of Nottingham Forest, failed to win over fans in a stormy 18-month spell at the Macron Stadium.
His reign brought about a huge change in personnel, including the exits of established stars such as Kevin Davies, Martin Petrov, Zat Knight and Chris Eagles, which were designed to cut costs.
But as he comes up against a Wanderers side in the midst of a financial crisis, Freedman says he did all he could to make a success of his time at the club.
“We did our best at Bolton,” he said. “Myself and Phil Gartside made the decision that we had to slash the wage bill, which the fans did not really see. We were working in a market of free transfers, while trying to make cutbacks.
“It is disappointing to see them where they are now, but I am a professional guy and we will go out to win the game, to make sure we emerge with three points.”
Freedman has anchored his side with one of his former Wanderers charges, Matt Mills, who was released by Neil Lennon last summer in a cost-cutting exercise of his own.
Former Bolton captain Mills has also proved reliable at the other end of the pitch, weighing in with five goals this season including an equaliser against Birmingham last time out.
“I know we are going to talk about his goal, which is right, but his defensive displays are so consistent, that is his biggest strength,” said Freedman after the game. “He is here to defend and he does that very well.
“He has really shone this season. We knew what we were getting with him, but he is a leader, he is a hard worker and he sets the example. He epitomises what we want to see in training.
“He comes in, he does his work and the best thing I like about him is that, win, lose or draw, you know he is going to be one of the first ones in the next morning, ready to go again. He will look you in the eye and go to work.
“When you get that around your club, you are on your way to success. There have been a few failures at the club in recent years. But with players of Matt Mills’ character, you learn from those mistakes and failures. We want that in our team.”
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