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On one hand a polished, considered and erudite Boltonian keen to show he is worth a first shot on the management ladder, on the other, one of football’s genuine working-class heroes who has been there, got the grass-stained jeans and T-shirt.
Two men, who on the face of it emanate from very opposite sides of the personality spectrum, have been tasked with leading Wanderers through the charred remains of a season that is beyond saving.
There is nothing either Jimmy Phillips or Peter Reid could have done to rescue the Whites from relegation. Once that has been confirmed you sense it will be with a sense of relief rather than disappointment the club can finally admit it is planning for life in League One.
But the work both men do over the next six weeks could go a long way to shaping just how quickly the club can bounce back from the horrors that have unfolded and, more crucially, how many fans stick with them in the wilderness of the third tier.
Phillips’ approach has been typically studious. His response to the shocking defeat at Bristol City was not to rant and rave, or even to drag his players in for a 7am training session, it was to analyse the improvements that could be made in training.
Meticulous preparation had not always been top priority in Neil Lennon’s regime; the Northern Irishman struggled to impose tactical plans on a squad whose concentration levels have been called under significant question. Time will tell whether Phillips’ more relaxed personality makes that information easier to absorb.
Phillips is happy to draw upon the experience around him – and not just the former Manchester City and Sunderland boss Reid.
Nicky Spooner has been given a deserved leg-up to the first-team front after working in the academy for several years, while an experienced medical staff have also had their say.
“One thing I did learn, especially as academy manager, is if you have 20-odd full-time members of staff and 40 part-time members of staff, is to let them give you their viewpoints and experiences and then you have to make your decision after collecting all the information,” Phillips said. “Hopefully, you make good decisions at the end of it.
“We have got a good sports science team headed up by Mark Leather, somebody who was my physio at the back end of my career when I was injured. He is very well qualified and very professional. He also voices a very professional opinion.
“It’s all these opinions and viewpoints I soak up and decide which selection I make for the weekend.
“This job would be impossible if I didn’t have this network of people behind me.
“If you are one man ploughing a loan furrow and not having anyone to turn to, I think the job is even harder. We have a strong team behind the team.”
The Yin to Phillips’ Yang is a man who needs little introduction from Everton to Plymouth, Mexico to Thailand.
Reid may have thought the chance to work at Bolton again had passed him by. His last job in English football was nearly five years ago and it is 21 years since he embarked on his most successful post, at Sunderland’s old Roker Park.
But 34 years since he left Burnden Park as one of the club’s brightest home-grown talents to embark on a playing career that would see him win league titles at Goodison Park and play at the 1986 World Cup, he answered an SOS from Dean Holdsworth.
“I wasn’t expecting a call but it was a nice surprise,” grinned Reid, his thick Scouse accent not dulled one iota by all the globetrotting.
“I live in the town and I have friends, family who are Bolton fans. It has been hard to take some of the stuff that has happened to the club.
“No-one likes getting beat and I don’t like picking your paper up and reading about all the financial problems.
“But that is the reality and we need to fight back.
“If I can help Jim in some small part, great.”
Phillips actually served as Reid’s boot boy before graduating to the first team.
“He wasn’t the best one I ever had,” he interjected. “I remember him well as a young man. I didn’t get to work with him that long because I think he came into the club in December and I left a few months later.”
Both Phillips and Reid wear their pride at representing Wanderers as a badge of honour but translating that to the players, who have been accused of doing exactly the opposite this season, will be one of the major tasks.
“I look at it this way,” said Reid. “You either roll up your sleeves and fight, or you bury your head in the sand and give up. And I know which one I’m picking.”
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Two men, who on the face of it emanate from very opposite sides of the personality spectrum, have been tasked with leading Wanderers through the charred remains of a season that is beyond saving.
There is nothing either Jimmy Phillips or Peter Reid could have done to rescue the Whites from relegation. Once that has been confirmed you sense it will be with a sense of relief rather than disappointment the club can finally admit it is planning for life in League One.
But the work both men do over the next six weeks could go a long way to shaping just how quickly the club can bounce back from the horrors that have unfolded and, more crucially, how many fans stick with them in the wilderness of the third tier.
Phillips’ approach has been typically studious. His response to the shocking defeat at Bristol City was not to rant and rave, or even to drag his players in for a 7am training session, it was to analyse the improvements that could be made in training.
Meticulous preparation had not always been top priority in Neil Lennon’s regime; the Northern Irishman struggled to impose tactical plans on a squad whose concentration levels have been called under significant question. Time will tell whether Phillips’ more relaxed personality makes that information easier to absorb.
Phillips is happy to draw upon the experience around him – and not just the former Manchester City and Sunderland boss Reid.
Nicky Spooner has been given a deserved leg-up to the first-team front after working in the academy for several years, while an experienced medical staff have also had their say.
“One thing I did learn, especially as academy manager, is if you have 20-odd full-time members of staff and 40 part-time members of staff, is to let them give you their viewpoints and experiences and then you have to make your decision after collecting all the information,” Phillips said. “Hopefully, you make good decisions at the end of it.
“We have got a good sports science team headed up by Mark Leather, somebody who was my physio at the back end of my career when I was injured. He is very well qualified and very professional. He also voices a very professional opinion.
“It’s all these opinions and viewpoints I soak up and decide which selection I make for the weekend.
“This job would be impossible if I didn’t have this network of people behind me.
“If you are one man ploughing a loan furrow and not having anyone to turn to, I think the job is even harder. We have a strong team behind the team.”
The Yin to Phillips’ Yang is a man who needs little introduction from Everton to Plymouth, Mexico to Thailand.
Reid may have thought the chance to work at Bolton again had passed him by. His last job in English football was nearly five years ago and it is 21 years since he embarked on his most successful post, at Sunderland’s old Roker Park.
But 34 years since he left Burnden Park as one of the club’s brightest home-grown talents to embark on a playing career that would see him win league titles at Goodison Park and play at the 1986 World Cup, he answered an SOS from Dean Holdsworth.
“I wasn’t expecting a call but it was a nice surprise,” grinned Reid, his thick Scouse accent not dulled one iota by all the globetrotting.
“I live in the town and I have friends, family who are Bolton fans. It has been hard to take some of the stuff that has happened to the club.
“No-one likes getting beat and I don’t like picking your paper up and reading about all the financial problems.
“But that is the reality and we need to fight back.
“If I can help Jim in some small part, great.”
Phillips actually served as Reid’s boot boy before graduating to the first team.
“He wasn’t the best one I ever had,” he interjected. “I remember him well as a young man. I didn’t get to work with him that long because I think he came into the club in December and I left a few months later.”
Both Phillips and Reid wear their pride at representing Wanderers as a badge of honour but translating that to the players, who have been accused of doing exactly the opposite this season, will be one of the major tasks.
“I look at it this way,” said Reid. “You either roll up your sleeves and fight, or you bury your head in the sand and give up. And I know which one I’m picking.”
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