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Wanderers know the drill these days – and woe betide those who don’t.
David Wheater has revealed one of the military tricks used by Phil Parkinson on the training ground as he whipped his new recruits into shape this summer.
The Bolton boss inherited a side that had conceded 81 goals in the Championship but is now looking more like a crack commando unit after three wins out of three.
“We’re working hard to be organised and every day in training we’ll do something on defending,” explained centre-half Wheater. “If one of us goes up for a header and the other doesn’t cover, we get told to do press-ups.
“Little things like that get good habits in your head and I think we’re doing well covering each other in games now too because there are some big fellas in this league.
“It gets in your head. It’s simple. And I don’t like doing them.”
Wheater has forged an effective defensive partnership with summer signing Mark Beevers, the pair instrumental in ending a long wait for an away win at Wimbledon last weekend, and again in another gutsy victory at Bristol Rovers on Wednesday night.
“He’s making me look a million quid,” Wheater said of his defensive partner. “Well.. I wish I was. It’s been a while since anyone said that. We’re playing well together and I think we complement each other. There’s no need to be fancy in this division – kick it, head it, and let Mark Davies and Zach Clough do the pretty stuff.”
As you might deduce from Wheater’s words, the mood was upbeat on Wednesday night as the players walked away from the Memorial Ground with another victory in the bag.
Just a few months after fans booed the team off the pitch on the other side of town at Ashton Gate, the 700-strong away end gave each man a standing ovation to illustrate how times are changing.
“The fans deserve some results,” Wheater said. “When you look how many came down for a Wednesday night match and they’ve got to go to work tomorrow morning, it means a lot.
“I don’t think we ever got right down last season. The players always thought we should be doing better than we were, so it needed fixing.
“We’ve had a better attitude this year. We’re seeing games out properly.
“That’s three wins in a row now and I think we can make it four on Saturday.”
Wheater is looking forward to a reunion with his former defensive colleague Gretar Steinsson on Saturday, the Icelander now technical director of Fleetwood Town having hung up his boots a few years ago.
“It’ll be good to see him, dressed up in a suit,” Wheater joked. “He’s quite important now, isn’t he!
“I’ve met him a couple of times with his glasses, and his beard, looking like the gaffer.
“He’s a great lad and he was a good player too.
“It looks like he’s done really well for himself and he definitely knows his stuff.
“He was always serious. I just hope we can put him in a bad mood on Saturday.”
Wheater reckons there is no chance Wanderers will underestimate their opponents tomorrow, despite their 100 per cent start to the campaign.
“There’s no chance the gaffer will let us think like that,” he said. “He’s been top class.
“He won’t let us get too confident even though it’s been a good start.
“We need to try and make sure our home form is top drawer this season.”
Source
David Wheater has revealed one of the military tricks used by Phil Parkinson on the training ground as he whipped his new recruits into shape this summer.
The Bolton boss inherited a side that had conceded 81 goals in the Championship but is now looking more like a crack commando unit after three wins out of three.
“We’re working hard to be organised and every day in training we’ll do something on defending,” explained centre-half Wheater. “If one of us goes up for a header and the other doesn’t cover, we get told to do press-ups.
“Little things like that get good habits in your head and I think we’re doing well covering each other in games now too because there are some big fellas in this league.
“It gets in your head. It’s simple. And I don’t like doing them.”
Wheater has forged an effective defensive partnership with summer signing Mark Beevers, the pair instrumental in ending a long wait for an away win at Wimbledon last weekend, and again in another gutsy victory at Bristol Rovers on Wednesday night.
“He’s making me look a million quid,” Wheater said of his defensive partner. “Well.. I wish I was. It’s been a while since anyone said that. We’re playing well together and I think we complement each other. There’s no need to be fancy in this division – kick it, head it, and let Mark Davies and Zach Clough do the pretty stuff.”
As you might deduce from Wheater’s words, the mood was upbeat on Wednesday night as the players walked away from the Memorial Ground with another victory in the bag.
Just a few months after fans booed the team off the pitch on the other side of town at Ashton Gate, the 700-strong away end gave each man a standing ovation to illustrate how times are changing.
“The fans deserve some results,” Wheater said. “When you look how many came down for a Wednesday night match and they’ve got to go to work tomorrow morning, it means a lot.
“I don’t think we ever got right down last season. The players always thought we should be doing better than we were, so it needed fixing.
“We’ve had a better attitude this year. We’re seeing games out properly.
“That’s three wins in a row now and I think we can make it four on Saturday.”
Wheater is looking forward to a reunion with his former defensive colleague Gretar Steinsson on Saturday, the Icelander now technical director of Fleetwood Town having hung up his boots a few years ago.
“It’ll be good to see him, dressed up in a suit,” Wheater joked. “He’s quite important now, isn’t he!
“I’ve met him a couple of times with his glasses, and his beard, looking like the gaffer.
“He’s a great lad and he was a good player too.
“It looks like he’s done really well for himself and he definitely knows his stuff.
“He was always serious. I just hope we can put him in a bad mood on Saturday.”
Wheater reckons there is no chance Wanderers will underestimate their opponents tomorrow, despite their 100 per cent start to the campaign.
“There’s no chance the gaffer will let us think like that,” he said. “He’s been top class.
“He won’t let us get too confident even though it’s been a good start.
“We need to try and make sure our home form is top drawer this season.”
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