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Kevin Davies has backed Jimmy Phillips to restore some calm to the Wanderers squad.
After weeks of dressing room disquiet and rumours of rifts developing between Neil Lennon and his players, the manager’s departure on Tuesday has left an opportunity for academy boss Phillips to pick up the reins.
Wanderers may have privately resigned themselves to League One football next season but Davies is backing Phillips to restore some pride in the final nine games of a wretched campaign.
Speaking to The Bolton News, the former Whites captain believes the club’s new owners have made a wise decision.
“I think Jimmy is exactly the right sort of person the club needs,” he said. “It seems harsh to say it but the majority of the dressing room will have been glad to see the back of him (Lennon).
“I didn’t pry or ask players that I do know in the squad but from everything you hear and read about the bust-ups, what has gone on, it seemed a harsh place to play football at times.
“Jimmy will put a smile back on people’s faces, get them working hard for each other again and get them wanting to win football matches. It might be too late to change anything but at least it can give the fans a bit of hope going forward.”
Lennon frequently denied problems with discipline in the camp but high-profile issues with Josh Vela and Gary Madine in recent weeks had seriously undermined his position.
Davies believes the responsibility for keeping the players on message lies with the manager himself.
“Managers are the main men and they have a lot to answer for,” he said. “They have to create an environment where players are working together, fighting together, and it doesn’t just fall into place.
“All the little bust-ups and arguments filter down and then they cause little problems between the players themselves.
“I have had that a few times in my career and it comes down to the manager.
“I don’t really know Neil but from the dealings I have had he’s a fiery character and Jimmy is totally different. He’s calm, he’s relaxed – he can do the other side of things as well – but I think the first thing he will do is sit the players down and say ‘fresh slate’.
“Four wins is not good enough, it doesn’t matter what happened off the pitch. So this is a chance for Jimmy to prove he can get that extra 10 per cent out of the players and see where it takes him.”
Wanderers are 11 points adrift of safety and would have to shatter records in the Championship to stand any chance of survival.
But Davies feels they have still got something to play for, and going to Bristol City this weekend have to approach the game in the right way.
“You’d have to say that avoiding relegation is going to be nigh-on impossible,” he said.
“If you won the next five games then maybe you’d look at it differently, and stranger things have happened in football I suppose, but realistically we are planning for League One now and that starts with Jimmy.
“It’s a good time to start afresh and give the fans some performances to be proud of. It has been a difficult season but you would hope they’d go down fighting.”
Davies is also keeping tabs on another old friend in Phil Brown, who has been strongly linked with a return to Wanderers as manager.
Southend seem determined to hold on to the 56-year-old but his Bolton ties could make an approach difficult to turn down.
"I think he'll see how things go,” Davies said. “If Bolton were to come in with a serious bid, with his family and the history he has at the club it would be incredibly difficult to resist. He would find it hard not to ask his chairman for permission to talk.”
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After weeks of dressing room disquiet and rumours of rifts developing between Neil Lennon and his players, the manager’s departure on Tuesday has left an opportunity for academy boss Phillips to pick up the reins.
Wanderers may have privately resigned themselves to League One football next season but Davies is backing Phillips to restore some pride in the final nine games of a wretched campaign.
Speaking to The Bolton News, the former Whites captain believes the club’s new owners have made a wise decision.
“I think Jimmy is exactly the right sort of person the club needs,” he said. “It seems harsh to say it but the majority of the dressing room will have been glad to see the back of him (Lennon).
“I didn’t pry or ask players that I do know in the squad but from everything you hear and read about the bust-ups, what has gone on, it seemed a harsh place to play football at times.
“Jimmy will put a smile back on people’s faces, get them working hard for each other again and get them wanting to win football matches. It might be too late to change anything but at least it can give the fans a bit of hope going forward.”
Lennon frequently denied problems with discipline in the camp but high-profile issues with Josh Vela and Gary Madine in recent weeks had seriously undermined his position.
Davies believes the responsibility for keeping the players on message lies with the manager himself.
“Managers are the main men and they have a lot to answer for,” he said. “They have to create an environment where players are working together, fighting together, and it doesn’t just fall into place.
“All the little bust-ups and arguments filter down and then they cause little problems between the players themselves.
“I have had that a few times in my career and it comes down to the manager.
“I don’t really know Neil but from the dealings I have had he’s a fiery character and Jimmy is totally different. He’s calm, he’s relaxed – he can do the other side of things as well – but I think the first thing he will do is sit the players down and say ‘fresh slate’.
“Four wins is not good enough, it doesn’t matter what happened off the pitch. So this is a chance for Jimmy to prove he can get that extra 10 per cent out of the players and see where it takes him.”
Wanderers are 11 points adrift of safety and would have to shatter records in the Championship to stand any chance of survival.
But Davies feels they have still got something to play for, and going to Bristol City this weekend have to approach the game in the right way.
“You’d have to say that avoiding relegation is going to be nigh-on impossible,” he said.
“If you won the next five games then maybe you’d look at it differently, and stranger things have happened in football I suppose, but realistically we are planning for League One now and that starts with Jimmy.
“It’s a good time to start afresh and give the fans some performances to be proud of. It has been a difficult season but you would hope they’d go down fighting.”
Davies is also keeping tabs on another old friend in Phil Brown, who has been strongly linked with a return to Wanderers as manager.
Southend seem determined to hold on to the 56-year-old but his Bolton ties could make an approach difficult to turn down.
"I think he'll see how things go,” Davies said. “If Bolton were to come in with a serious bid, with his family and the history he has at the club it would be incredibly difficult to resist. He would find it hard not to ask his chairman for permission to talk.”
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