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Phil Parkinson plans to meet personally with his out-of-contract players next week to discuss who will be retained for next season.
Just 10 first team players have deals which extend beyond this summer, leaving the Wanderers boss with plenty to ponder as he takes the club into the Championship.
Six loan players have returned to their parent clubs, although Adam Le Fondre, Andy Taylor, Tom Thorpe and James Henry will also be free agents.
Parkinson has decisions to make on the likes of Gary Madine, David Wheater, Lawrie Wilson, Jay Spearing, Jem Karacan, Dorian Dervite and Fil Morais and is not taking the process lightly.
“Myself and the chairman spoke on Monday morning and probably next week we’ll meet with the players,” he told The Bolton News. “I’d like to meet each player who’s out of contract and have a chat with them individually.
“Next season is really made or broken in this period. We have got to make some good decisions. Each one is a tight call but hopefully between me and Ken we’ll make the right calls.”
It is understood Wanderers’ first team players and their families have been treated to a break in Dubai by chairman Ken Anderson after securing promotion.
Parkinson is keen to enjoy the promotion vibe but speaking from the Whites’ civic reception on Tuesday evening he was keen to impress on his players they must stick to the fitness plans issued to them by the sports science department in the off-season.
Players will be called in for fitness tests in the first week of June to give the medical staff an idea of how they have looked after themselves - but in the short term, even the manager is happy to relax.
“I’ve enjoyed the last couple of days – Sunday was obviously great, we had a good night celebrating, but then spending a whole day on Monday with my family was nice,” said the Wanderers boss. “Coming into the town centre was fantastic to see what it really means to the Bolton public.
“We’ve had a bit of a de-brief with the lads to talk about the off-season. I’ve told them to go away, have a period relaxing, have a break but then they’re coming back in early June for some testing.
“It’s so important they look after themselves because we’re going into a division where everything we do we’ve got to be that little bit better.
“The fitness side of it is going to be really important.”
Parkinson is yet to tackle to issue of playing budgets with his chairman, with plenty still to sort in the boardroom over the coming weeks, not least the fact Wanderers are still in a transfer embargo.
Mindful of the make-do and mend approach which contributed to the Whites’ downfall in the Championship under Neil Lennon last time around, Parkinson wants much higher competition for places when the action resumes in August.
He also hinted the core of his squad would be retained in order to preserve the dressing room spirit which has been so important in their League One success.
“You look at teams that have gone up, Barnsley for instance, kept the core of their players and that’s important,” he said. “But also we want to make the squad strong and you look at the season in which Bolton came down and some of the weaker teams they had to put out – it was never going to be good enough.
“Ken will have an idea on the budget and I know Paul Aldridge and Simon Marland have been working on that over the last couple of days.
“I think we need to sit down and discuss what will make this squad competitive in the next division.
“Even now I’m pretty clear in my mind what we need to add to what we’ve got.
“I really do think we need to embrace the spirit we’ve created this season, that’s really important. “We have got to make sure we’ve got cover.”
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Just 10 first team players have deals which extend beyond this summer, leaving the Wanderers boss with plenty to ponder as he takes the club into the Championship.
Six loan players have returned to their parent clubs, although Adam Le Fondre, Andy Taylor, Tom Thorpe and James Henry will also be free agents.
Parkinson has decisions to make on the likes of Gary Madine, David Wheater, Lawrie Wilson, Jay Spearing, Jem Karacan, Dorian Dervite and Fil Morais and is not taking the process lightly.
“Myself and the chairman spoke on Monday morning and probably next week we’ll meet with the players,” he told The Bolton News. “I’d like to meet each player who’s out of contract and have a chat with them individually.
“Next season is really made or broken in this period. We have got to make some good decisions. Each one is a tight call but hopefully between me and Ken we’ll make the right calls.”
It is understood Wanderers’ first team players and their families have been treated to a break in Dubai by chairman Ken Anderson after securing promotion.
Parkinson is keen to enjoy the promotion vibe but speaking from the Whites’ civic reception on Tuesday evening he was keen to impress on his players they must stick to the fitness plans issued to them by the sports science department in the off-season.
Players will be called in for fitness tests in the first week of June to give the medical staff an idea of how they have looked after themselves - but in the short term, even the manager is happy to relax.
“I’ve enjoyed the last couple of days – Sunday was obviously great, we had a good night celebrating, but then spending a whole day on Monday with my family was nice,” said the Wanderers boss. “Coming into the town centre was fantastic to see what it really means to the Bolton public.
“We’ve had a bit of a de-brief with the lads to talk about the off-season. I’ve told them to go away, have a period relaxing, have a break but then they’re coming back in early June for some testing.
“It’s so important they look after themselves because we’re going into a division where everything we do we’ve got to be that little bit better.
“The fitness side of it is going to be really important.”
Parkinson is yet to tackle to issue of playing budgets with his chairman, with plenty still to sort in the boardroom over the coming weeks, not least the fact Wanderers are still in a transfer embargo.
Mindful of the make-do and mend approach which contributed to the Whites’ downfall in the Championship under Neil Lennon last time around, Parkinson wants much higher competition for places when the action resumes in August.
He also hinted the core of his squad would be retained in order to preserve the dressing room spirit which has been so important in their League One success.
“You look at teams that have gone up, Barnsley for instance, kept the core of their players and that’s important,” he said. “But also we want to make the squad strong and you look at the season in which Bolton came down and some of the weaker teams they had to put out – it was never going to be good enough.
“Ken will have an idea on the budget and I know Paul Aldridge and Simon Marland have been working on that over the last couple of days.
“I think we need to sit down and discuss what will make this squad competitive in the next division.
“Even now I’m pretty clear in my mind what we need to add to what we’ve got.
“I really do think we need to embrace the spirit we’ve created this season, that’s really important. “We have got to make sure we’ve got cover.”
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