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Embarking on new territory is always tricky, but after negotiating some murky waters Phil Parkinson is satisfied with this week's outcome after securing the services of two quality defenders.
The Whites manager has handed year-long deals to long-serving centre-back David Wheater and to a new face at the Macron Stadium, Lewis Buxton.
Experienced full-back Buxton signed for Wanderers after spending last season in the Championship with Rotherham United and will reunite with Gary Madine and Mark Beevers, with whom he played at Sheffield Wednesday.
"Lewis is someone I’ve been speaking to over the summer," said Parkinson. "He’s a good signing for us, a good character and a player who’s played a lot of football at Championship level throughout his career, so I’m pleased to have him on board.
"We’re going to assess things over the first few days of the season and with Lewis’ signature done, we’re going to sit back and see how the weekend goes, and obviously we’ll work toward the final few pieces of the jigsaw."
Parkinson concedes it has been far from straightforward constructing a competitive squad while an embargo restricts the club's transfer activity, but having seen co-owner Ken Anderson toil away to try to remove the longstanding obstacle he has confidence that, over time, he will be able to make the necessary tweaks to his squad.
"It’s been difficult, it’s not a situation I’ve been in before," he said. "All I can say is behind the scenes, Ken and the rest of the board are working very hard to put foundations in place for the club for years to come and that’s the most important thing.
"The board are working to put the building blocks in place to make sure Bolton Wanderers is built on strong foundations going forward.
"Obviously the implications of the embargo can be quite complicated but the Football League are 'guiding us', shall we say – they can’t be seen to be helping us but they’re guiding us and letting us know what we can and can’t do.
"We have got some very good players in, it’s just that our squad building has taken longer than we anticipated, but we’ll get there in the end.
"At the moment we’re working hard to make the best of it and I feel the lads we’ve got in are all good signings and we’ll add to that.
"We still need to address the balance of the squad, we know that, and it’s probably taken longer than I anticipated but the signs are that we’ll get the opportunity to do that in the coming weeks."
While he still mulls over the possibility of deals for trialists Frazer Richardson, Neal Eardley and Danny Collins, Parkinson was able to reinstate a familiar face to Bolton fans in Wheater.
The big centre-back was released in May but this week signed up to return to the club he has called home since 2011, albeit on heavily-reduced terms relating to performances.
And Wheater's return came thanks in part to his determination and attitude when speaking to Parkinson over the summer.
Although he was absent for the pre-season trip to Sweden – staying in England to be at the birth of his son Arthur – Wheats' desire to put right the wrongs of the last campaign struck a chord with Parkinson.
"David came in after we came back from Sweden, so he’s been a bit behind but I’ve been impressed with his determination to stay here," Parkinson said. "It wasn’t about money, his contract is very much geared towards getting out on the pitch, and his attitude in training has been great.
"He had opportunities to go to several other clubs but the first day I spoke to him he said ‘I want to stay here and help the club get going again’ and I thought that was so refreshing.
"My job – and David’s – is to get a player who, as a centre-half, should be at the peak of his career back to his very best and we’ll be working with him to make sure that happens."
Meanwhile, Parkinson will leave it as long as possible before deciding whether to include Zach Clough or Jamie Proctor in this afternoon’s squad, after both missed the Whites’ final pre-season friendly against Preston North End.
“Like everybody we’ve had a few niggles along the way,” he said. “Proctor and Zach in particular are two key players that we’ve missed recently, but we won’t risk anybody if they’re not right.
“We’ve got a long season ahead of us and it’s the first game of the season, not the last.
"If people are fit they’ll be selected, if not we’ll give them plenty of time to get right.”
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The Whites manager has handed year-long deals to long-serving centre-back David Wheater and to a new face at the Macron Stadium, Lewis Buxton.
Experienced full-back Buxton signed for Wanderers after spending last season in the Championship with Rotherham United and will reunite with Gary Madine and Mark Beevers, with whom he played at Sheffield Wednesday.
"Lewis is someone I’ve been speaking to over the summer," said Parkinson. "He’s a good signing for us, a good character and a player who’s played a lot of football at Championship level throughout his career, so I’m pleased to have him on board.
"We’re going to assess things over the first few days of the season and with Lewis’ signature done, we’re going to sit back and see how the weekend goes, and obviously we’ll work toward the final few pieces of the jigsaw."
Parkinson concedes it has been far from straightforward constructing a competitive squad while an embargo restricts the club's transfer activity, but having seen co-owner Ken Anderson toil away to try to remove the longstanding obstacle he has confidence that, over time, he will be able to make the necessary tweaks to his squad.
"It’s been difficult, it’s not a situation I’ve been in before," he said. "All I can say is behind the scenes, Ken and the rest of the board are working very hard to put foundations in place for the club for years to come and that’s the most important thing.
"The board are working to put the building blocks in place to make sure Bolton Wanderers is built on strong foundations going forward.
"Obviously the implications of the embargo can be quite complicated but the Football League are 'guiding us', shall we say – they can’t be seen to be helping us but they’re guiding us and letting us know what we can and can’t do.
"We have got some very good players in, it’s just that our squad building has taken longer than we anticipated, but we’ll get there in the end.
"At the moment we’re working hard to make the best of it and I feel the lads we’ve got in are all good signings and we’ll add to that.
"We still need to address the balance of the squad, we know that, and it’s probably taken longer than I anticipated but the signs are that we’ll get the opportunity to do that in the coming weeks."
While he still mulls over the possibility of deals for trialists Frazer Richardson, Neal Eardley and Danny Collins, Parkinson was able to reinstate a familiar face to Bolton fans in Wheater.
The big centre-back was released in May but this week signed up to return to the club he has called home since 2011, albeit on heavily-reduced terms relating to performances.
And Wheater's return came thanks in part to his determination and attitude when speaking to Parkinson over the summer.
Although he was absent for the pre-season trip to Sweden – staying in England to be at the birth of his son Arthur – Wheats' desire to put right the wrongs of the last campaign struck a chord with Parkinson.
"David came in after we came back from Sweden, so he’s been a bit behind but I’ve been impressed with his determination to stay here," Parkinson said. "It wasn’t about money, his contract is very much geared towards getting out on the pitch, and his attitude in training has been great.
"He had opportunities to go to several other clubs but the first day I spoke to him he said ‘I want to stay here and help the club get going again’ and I thought that was so refreshing.
"My job – and David’s – is to get a player who, as a centre-half, should be at the peak of his career back to his very best and we’ll be working with him to make sure that happens."
Meanwhile, Parkinson will leave it as long as possible before deciding whether to include Zach Clough or Jamie Proctor in this afternoon’s squad, after both missed the Whites’ final pre-season friendly against Preston North End.
“Like everybody we’ve had a few niggles along the way,” he said. “Proctor and Zach in particular are two key players that we’ve missed recently, but we won’t risk anybody if they’re not right.
“We’ve got a long season ahead of us and it’s the first game of the season, not the last.
"If people are fit they’ll be selected, if not we’ll give them plenty of time to get right.”
Source