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Phil Parkinson says intense competition for places gives him plenty of options in attack for tonight’s key clash with Birmingham City.
Zach Clough, Aaron Wilbraham, Tyler Walker, Edu Obasi and Connor Hall are all knocking on the door, meaning even a place on the bench at the Macron is sought-after property.
Adam Le Fondre added another goal to his tally at Leeds on Friday to strengthen his grip on a starting spot.
But by comparison, Clough got just a minute of normal time at Elland Road to stake his claim, much to the frustration of sections of the Bolton support.
Parkinson indicated after the Leeds loss that he was unlikely to change the formation and gameplan which had helped the club ease its way clear of the relegation zone in recent weeks, meaning space is at a premium for his front men.
“Zach will get his chances,” Parkinson said of the 23-year-old, who has made just two starts since returning to the Macron on loan at the end of January. “I speak to him regularly and he knows he’s got to keep training well and earn the right to be on the bench as well because we’ve got players like Edu Obasi, who is getting stronger all the time.
“We have got Connor Hall who is very, very unlucky not to have figured more. He has been working really hard.
“The bottom line is that no-one has got a divine right to be on the bench, let alone the team.
“We have to make decisions based on how the players have been performing on the pitch and on the training ground. It isn’t always about what the supporters see on a Saturday or a Tuesday, it’s the whole week.”
Clough and Walker were dropped down to the Under-23s last week in a 1-0 win against Millwall and Parkinson explained the decision was to ensure the two on-loan Nottingham Forest men kept as sharp as possible.
“I always have a chat to players before we put them in the Under-23s, one to make sure they understand why they are playing, and two to make sure their attitude is right,” he said.
“Zach isn’t that senior a player but has played plenty of first team football and so if he had gone into that group and not performed well, it could have affected the other younger players.
“I felt he and Tyler needed some game time, Zach probably more because Tyler had played the previous week.”
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Zach Clough, Aaron Wilbraham, Tyler Walker, Edu Obasi and Connor Hall are all knocking on the door, meaning even a place on the bench at the Macron is sought-after property.
Adam Le Fondre added another goal to his tally at Leeds on Friday to strengthen his grip on a starting spot.
But by comparison, Clough got just a minute of normal time at Elland Road to stake his claim, much to the frustration of sections of the Bolton support.
Parkinson indicated after the Leeds loss that he was unlikely to change the formation and gameplan which had helped the club ease its way clear of the relegation zone in recent weeks, meaning space is at a premium for his front men.
“Zach will get his chances,” Parkinson said of the 23-year-old, who has made just two starts since returning to the Macron on loan at the end of January. “I speak to him regularly and he knows he’s got to keep training well and earn the right to be on the bench as well because we’ve got players like Edu Obasi, who is getting stronger all the time.
“We have got Connor Hall who is very, very unlucky not to have figured more. He has been working really hard.
“The bottom line is that no-one has got a divine right to be on the bench, let alone the team.
“We have to make decisions based on how the players have been performing on the pitch and on the training ground. It isn’t always about what the supporters see on a Saturday or a Tuesday, it’s the whole week.”
Clough and Walker were dropped down to the Under-23s last week in a 1-0 win against Millwall and Parkinson explained the decision was to ensure the two on-loan Nottingham Forest men kept as sharp as possible.
“I always have a chat to players before we put them in the Under-23s, one to make sure they understand why they are playing, and two to make sure their attitude is right,” he said.
“Zach isn’t that senior a player but has played plenty of first team football and so if he had gone into that group and not performed well, it could have affected the other younger players.
“I felt he and Tyler needed some game time, Zach probably more because Tyler had played the previous week.”
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