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Competition for places in the Wanderers team is starting to hot up again, with injury worries at the Macron easing.
Bolton’s on-field leader Jay Spearing is set to make a return against Millwall, having recovered from a groin problem that has kept him sidelined for the best part of a month.
And his return points to the potential for a bunfight for shirts all around the team, since Max Clayton is firing on all cylinders again and Sammy Ameobi has impressed during training sessions at Lostock this week.
Wanderers will be without Mark Howard until early next year but, his injury aside Phil Parkinson’s side are edging towards something approaching full strength.
“Spearing is back, he’s trained this week so that’s good news, we’ll have a look at how he is as the week draws to a close,” said Parkinson as he prepares to take on Millwall again.
“Sammy had a slight problem with his Achilles on Sunday but I thought he was back to his best in training today, he trained really, really well so that’s good.
“Max Clayton is in the category of lads who are out of the team and have got to earn a place again, it’s as simple as that.
“We look at what he does in training and in the under-23s.
“We’re still waiting for that moment from Max – and one or two other players – to say ‘right, you’ve got to play me now.’
“We have to pick a team we feel is the right one, and decide which players deserve the chance to play.
“We just have to make sure the ones out of the team are champing at the bit and can hide their disappointment at not being in the team and they do their talking with a performance on the pitch.”
The game today is far from 11v11 and Parkinson is under no illusions – this is a squad game and he needs more impact from those who have been biding their time warming the subs’ bench.
Underwhelmed by a lack of influence once he has introduced new blood in matches, Parkinson is aiming to change that as winter kicks in and the importance of replacements increases.
“As the heavy pitches kick in through the season impact from the bench is absolutely huge, that’s one thing me and Steve (Parkin, assistant manager) have been talking about this week.
“We’re looking for more impact when we make substitutions, that’s what we’ll be saying to the lads who don’t make the starting XI on Saturday.
“We’re saying to them, we want more, if you look back every season goals and impact from the bench is important and we want more of that, we don’t think we’ve had enough of it yet.
“And it’s not one player, it’s maybe two or three, and it’s something we will be addressing close to kick-off.
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Bolton’s on-field leader Jay Spearing is set to make a return against Millwall, having recovered from a groin problem that has kept him sidelined for the best part of a month.
And his return points to the potential for a bunfight for shirts all around the team, since Max Clayton is firing on all cylinders again and Sammy Ameobi has impressed during training sessions at Lostock this week.
Wanderers will be without Mark Howard until early next year but, his injury aside Phil Parkinson’s side are edging towards something approaching full strength.
“Spearing is back, he’s trained this week so that’s good news, we’ll have a look at how he is as the week draws to a close,” said Parkinson as he prepares to take on Millwall again.
“Sammy had a slight problem with his Achilles on Sunday but I thought he was back to his best in training today, he trained really, really well so that’s good.
“Max Clayton is in the category of lads who are out of the team and have got to earn a place again, it’s as simple as that.
“We look at what he does in training and in the under-23s.
“We’re still waiting for that moment from Max – and one or two other players – to say ‘right, you’ve got to play me now.’
“We have to pick a team we feel is the right one, and decide which players deserve the chance to play.
“We just have to make sure the ones out of the team are champing at the bit and can hide their disappointment at not being in the team and they do their talking with a performance on the pitch.”
The game today is far from 11v11 and Parkinson is under no illusions – this is a squad game and he needs more impact from those who have been biding their time warming the subs’ bench.
Underwhelmed by a lack of influence once he has introduced new blood in matches, Parkinson is aiming to change that as winter kicks in and the importance of replacements increases.
“As the heavy pitches kick in through the season impact from the bench is absolutely huge, that’s one thing me and Steve (Parkin, assistant manager) have been talking about this week.
“We’re looking for more impact when we make substitutions, that’s what we’ll be saying to the lads who don’t make the starting XI on Saturday.
“We’re saying to them, we want more, if you look back every season goals and impact from the bench is important and we want more of that, we don’t think we’ve had enough of it yet.
“And it’s not one player, it’s maybe two or three, and it’s something we will be addressing close to kick-off.
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