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DAVID Wheater has revealed how his own Wanderers future hung in the balance during the final moments of last season.
The big centre-half qualified for a one-year extension on his contract at the Macron Stadium once he passed 30 appearances – but only if Bolton stayed out of League One.
Aaron Wilbraham’s late winner against Nottingham Forest means he will be pulling on a Wanderers shirt for a ninth consecutive season, with Wheater’s new deal confirmed by the club last week.
“I’ve never felt like that at the end of a game, even when I scored to make it two piece I just didn’t know if we’d make it,” he told The Bolton News. “We only had a few minutes left.
“I only got an extra year if we stayed up and, honestly, I was stood there thinking about my daughter who’s turned four and we’re looking at schools and thinking ‘what am I going to do if we have to move?’
“I can remember seeing 87 minutes tick over. When Albi scored I must have sprinted 100 metres. I was fist-bumping everything. I’d have loved to see what was happening on the bench, and just behind the bench, because it was manic on the pitch.”
Wheater admits the Wanderers dressing room was sad to say goodbye to captain Darren Pratley, whose release was also confirmed last week.
Phil Parkinson took the decision to release the 32-year-old midfielder – who had fulfilled the skipper’s role for most of the last three years – alongside Karl Henry and Aaron Wilbraham.
Wheater, Wanderers’ longest-serving player, has known Pratley since he arrived on a free transfer from Swansea City under Owen Coyle in 2011. And the defender believes his team-mate was, at times, under-appreciated by the Bolton fans.
“Prats always gave everything,” he told The Bolton News. “I think he played well but the fans always gave him a hard time. He was a good captain, always a claiming influence on everyone. It’s good to have that mix in a dressing room of different characters.”
Meanwhile, Wanderers were last night waiting on a final piece of paperwork from Erhun Oztumer's medical before announcing the former Walsall man as an official player last night.
Source
The big centre-half qualified for a one-year extension on his contract at the Macron Stadium once he passed 30 appearances – but only if Bolton stayed out of League One.
Aaron Wilbraham’s late winner against Nottingham Forest means he will be pulling on a Wanderers shirt for a ninth consecutive season, with Wheater’s new deal confirmed by the club last week.
“I’ve never felt like that at the end of a game, even when I scored to make it two piece I just didn’t know if we’d make it,” he told The Bolton News. “We only had a few minutes left.
“I only got an extra year if we stayed up and, honestly, I was stood there thinking about my daughter who’s turned four and we’re looking at schools and thinking ‘what am I going to do if we have to move?’
“I can remember seeing 87 minutes tick over. When Albi scored I must have sprinted 100 metres. I was fist-bumping everything. I’d have loved to see what was happening on the bench, and just behind the bench, because it was manic on the pitch.”
Wheater admits the Wanderers dressing room was sad to say goodbye to captain Darren Pratley, whose release was also confirmed last week.
Phil Parkinson took the decision to release the 32-year-old midfielder – who had fulfilled the skipper’s role for most of the last three years – alongside Karl Henry and Aaron Wilbraham.
Wheater, Wanderers’ longest-serving player, has known Pratley since he arrived on a free transfer from Swansea City under Owen Coyle in 2011. And the defender believes his team-mate was, at times, under-appreciated by the Bolton fans.
“Prats always gave everything,” he told The Bolton News. “I think he played well but the fans always gave him a hard time. He was a good captain, always a claiming influence on everyone. It’s good to have that mix in a dressing room of different characters.”
Meanwhile, Wanderers were last night waiting on a final piece of paperwork from Erhun Oztumer's medical before announcing the former Walsall man as an official player last night.
Source
Last edited by Leeds_Trotter on Wed Jun 13 2018, 11:30; edited 3 times in total
