Holdsworth warns players: Shape up or ship out

Dean Holdsworth wants Wanderers to shape up or ship out this summer.

Though the managerial situation remains up in the air at the Macron, whoever does get the nod from the co-ownership will be tasked with making his team the fittest in League One.

This summer is likely to bring wholesale changes in the playing squad as the wage bill is brought under control. But Holdsworth has already laid down a challenge to the players who report back for duty.

“I want to be the fittest team in the division, with and without the ball,” he told The Bolton News. “I want us to be the hardest-working group out of the whole lot.

“We’ll be testing them at the end of the season, then again in pre-season, and I want those statistics to show me that the players are ready to roll up their sleeves and show me we can compete at the top of the division.”

The Whites will carry 15 professionals forward from this season’s disastrous campaign, will take up options on Kaiyne Woolery and Rob Holding and could offer new deals to some of the younger players.

But the squad has been warned there will be no “pay-offs” for those wishing to leave the club who are under contract.

Holdsworth admits it could take 12-15 months before the club has a blank canvass to build again.

“There are several players on good contracts for next season but it’s never as easy to say ‘they are all gone’ because football just doesn’t work like that,” he said. “I can see it being an ever-changing picture over the summer.

“Whatever group of players we have next season will need to be prepared properly for what is ahead of them.

“Can they cope with League One and the challenges it brings? I am hoping that question will be answered by the players.

“Some of them will want to leave, that’s quite natural, some will be wanted by other clubs. There are big decisions for everyone to make.

“But we want to build a team our fans can be proud of, so it’s time for everyone to roll up their sleeves and work hard.”

Holdsworth has also vowed to change a “losing mentality” which has built up over a long period of time at the Macron.

“I want to surround the players with people who have winning experience,” he said. “Winning behaviour doesn’t just appear on a Saturday afternoon when you walk into the dressing room, it’s ingrained by what you do in midweek.

“Championship winning teams set high standards, and that is what I want.”

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That's exactly what is required Deano. We will be a young team will need one or two experienced at this level to drive the youngsters on when the going is tough. Leadership has definitely been lacking for years.

NickFazer wrote:Leadership has definitely been lacking for years.

I've been banging on about this for years.

An average player who is a great captain is more use than a good player who is a shit captain.

We need a leader playing from centre half, in the mould of Gerry Taggart.

Natasha Whittam wrote:

NickFazer wrote:Leadership has definitely been lacking for years.

An average player who is a great captain is more use than a good player who is a shit captain.

We ended up with an average player, who was a shit captain.

Deano finally admits it could be another 12 to 15 months before we can get rid of the current high earning players (something I've been banging on about in the midst of all this wishful thinking about having a clear out and starting again)

All this flag waving and drum banging about a fresh start isn't useful when the first team is likely to be very similar to the one we currently have.

And Iles needs to learn the difference between canvas and canvass starting with the fact that one's a noun and the other a verb - and he picked the wrong one.