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KEN Anderson has challenged Wanderers’ out-of-contract stars to help secure Championship safety – and a new deal at the Macron.
A whopping 13 senior players and seven more Under-23 regulars could become free transfers at the end of the season, including David Wheater, Mark Beevers, Karl Henry and Ben Alnwick.
Anderson expects the squad to be thinned and will look to offload high-earning keeper Ben Amos, who is currently impressing on loan at Charlton Athletic.
Some are already proving their worth in the survival fight – and the Whites chairman hopes that the desire to stay on at Bolton will help secure enough points in the last 13 games to keep the club in the second tier.
“My vision for the club is to sustain the Championship this year, press on next year and do better,” he said.
“We have got a lot of players out of contract this summer, so I think it is likely there will be a lot of changes at the end of the season.
“There are a number of players here who I think are playing for their future. They may or may not like that but I think most of the ones who have come in over the past couple of weeks have done very well.”
Anderson has pledged to invest in players next summer, when the search for outside investment or a potential new buyer for the club is also expected to continue.
Speculation over Wanderers’ sale hit fever pitch in late August and early September before Anderson became sole owner, purchasing the shares owned by former business partner Dean Holdsworth.
He now admits the situation could have been a distraction in what proved to be a poor start to the campaign for Phil Parkinson’s side.
“We constantly get asked about selling the club but I took a decision I wasn’t going to talk to anyone until the end of the season because I felt it was upsetting what was going on,” he said.
“Whether that bad start to the season was because of what was going on, I don’t know. Possibly it was just that we had key players missing because of injury.”
Anderson is coming up on his second anniversary at Wanderers – and he admits his tenure has been much longer than originally planned.
“I got involved with the club via default because Dean (Holdsworth) at the time was buying the club and his other investor failed to produce the money,” he explained.
“At the 11th hour, 11am, on March 16 in the High Court if someone hadn’t put the money up or agreed to bridge the money then the club would not be here today.
“I’m not sure it would have gone that far – I think someone would have come in at the death – but my original plan was to be here for four to six weeks.
“I was going to bridge the club and Dean was going to bring someone else in but that never happened and here I am 23 months later, still here, but with a very different plan to the one I came in with.
“I’ll be honest it has been very difficult, very stressful. We inherited a lot of big problems which have been around in the press.
“But there is light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a very different club today to what it was 23 months ago. There is a bright future.”
Wanderers assistant Steve Parkin also believes there is something to aim at for players who have not been involved as much as they would like in the last few months.
“We’re going to need absolutely everyone to stand up and be counted over the next few weeks,” he said. “The mood has been good among the squad - and those who are not in the team have shown the right attitude to get back in there.
“It has been really good to see.”
Wanderers have 13 first-team players reaching the end of their current deal at the Macron: Dorian Dervite, Mark Beevers, Chris Taylor, Jem Karacan, Sammy Ameobi, Ben Alnwick, Derik Osede, Aaron Wilbraham, Darren Pratley, Fil Morais, Karl Henry, David Wheater and Mark Howard.
Another seven of David Lee’s Under-23 regulars are also at the end of their one-year professional deals including: Connor Hall, Jack Earing, Alex Perry, Jeff King, Harry Brockbank, Cole Lonsdale and Ryan White.
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/16045397.bolton-chairman-ken-anderson-makes-players-contract-pledge/?ref=mrb&lp=2
A whopping 13 senior players and seven more Under-23 regulars could become free transfers at the end of the season, including David Wheater, Mark Beevers, Karl Henry and Ben Alnwick.
Anderson expects the squad to be thinned and will look to offload high-earning keeper Ben Amos, who is currently impressing on loan at Charlton Athletic.
Some are already proving their worth in the survival fight – and the Whites chairman hopes that the desire to stay on at Bolton will help secure enough points in the last 13 games to keep the club in the second tier.
“My vision for the club is to sustain the Championship this year, press on next year and do better,” he said.
“We have got a lot of players out of contract this summer, so I think it is likely there will be a lot of changes at the end of the season.
“There are a number of players here who I think are playing for their future. They may or may not like that but I think most of the ones who have come in over the past couple of weeks have done very well.”
Anderson has pledged to invest in players next summer, when the search for outside investment or a potential new buyer for the club is also expected to continue.
Speculation over Wanderers’ sale hit fever pitch in late August and early September before Anderson became sole owner, purchasing the shares owned by former business partner Dean Holdsworth.
He now admits the situation could have been a distraction in what proved to be a poor start to the campaign for Phil Parkinson’s side.
“We constantly get asked about selling the club but I took a decision I wasn’t going to talk to anyone until the end of the season because I felt it was upsetting what was going on,” he said.
“Whether that bad start to the season was because of what was going on, I don’t know. Possibly it was just that we had key players missing because of injury.”
Anderson is coming up on his second anniversary at Wanderers – and he admits his tenure has been much longer than originally planned.
“I got involved with the club via default because Dean (Holdsworth) at the time was buying the club and his other investor failed to produce the money,” he explained.
“At the 11th hour, 11am, on March 16 in the High Court if someone hadn’t put the money up or agreed to bridge the money then the club would not be here today.
“I’m not sure it would have gone that far – I think someone would have come in at the death – but my original plan was to be here for four to six weeks.
“I was going to bridge the club and Dean was going to bring someone else in but that never happened and here I am 23 months later, still here, but with a very different plan to the one I came in with.
“I’ll be honest it has been very difficult, very stressful. We inherited a lot of big problems which have been around in the press.
“But there is light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a very different club today to what it was 23 months ago. There is a bright future.”
Wanderers assistant Steve Parkin also believes there is something to aim at for players who have not been involved as much as they would like in the last few months.
“We’re going to need absolutely everyone to stand up and be counted over the next few weeks,” he said. “The mood has been good among the squad - and those who are not in the team have shown the right attitude to get back in there.
“It has been really good to see.”
Wanderers have 13 first-team players reaching the end of their current deal at the Macron: Dorian Dervite, Mark Beevers, Chris Taylor, Jem Karacan, Sammy Ameobi, Ben Alnwick, Derik Osede, Aaron Wilbraham, Darren Pratley, Fil Morais, Karl Henry, David Wheater and Mark Howard.
Another seven of David Lee’s Under-23 regulars are also at the end of their one-year professional deals including: Connor Hall, Jack Earing, Alex Perry, Jeff King, Harry Brockbank, Cole Lonsdale and Ryan White.
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/16045397.bolton-chairman-ken-anderson-makes-players-contract-pledge/?ref=mrb&lp=2