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Keith Hill has tackled criticism of Wanderers’ recent League One results head on by insisting: “There is no quick fix”
Defeats against Coventry City and Doncaster Rovers have snuffed out much of the hope among supporters that a bid to escape relegation is still a possibility.
Hill says he will not give up on his “Impossible Dream” which continues with the visit of Wycombe tomorrow.
But the Bolton boss has attempted to reason with critics who have surfaced since victory against Tranmere in the last home game, and claims progress is being made in stabilising the club even if results have yet to reflect his point of view.
“Sometimes you have to look back at the past to realise how far you have come and there are a lot of comparisons being made with respect to where we are now and where we were last season. We have made big progress,” he said.
“Is it evident in results? No. It takes time.
“You can sack me tomorrow and results are not going to change overnight. There’s no quick fix at this football club and people have got to realise that.
“Big Sam Allardyce did amazing but it’s several years since we were there. We are not anymore and we’re still supporting a Premier League club. The reality is we’re in League One and fighting for our lives as a football club, and there are transitional phases that we’re still going through since the summer and it’s a lot of pain.”
Since arriving in August, Hill has had two busy transfer windows and used 32 different players.
Restricted by a transfer embargo, which limits the squad to 23 professional contracts, he says the situation he inherited has been quite unlike anything he has handled before.
But the Boltonian refuses to write off the rest of the season – or condemn his players for their recent performances.
“The belief is there,” he said. “We do know what we’re doing. We’ve been dealt a continually difficult hand.
“It’s tough when you are playing against established League One sides like Doncaster who can purposefully make four changes to key players from the weekend to keep people fresh.
“We are expected to go there and dominate? I don’t see where that is going to be evident at this stage of our development as a football club and as a team.
“We have probably changed our team three times during the course of the 23 league games I’ve experiences as a manager here. And I wouldn’t have done that in seven years elsewhere.”
Hill compared Wanderers to other clubs who have faced administration and dropped into the fourth tier and while that does not spare him from criticism, he believes a certain amount of foresight is needed when looking at the whole picture.
“It’s still a results driven business, there’s no question about that but there are anomalies all over the show,” he said. “This is not any different to what Coventry have been through, or Portsmouth, but fortunately from our perspective we’re not having to go through what Bury went through, or Hereford United back in the day.
“It is the start of a new horizon but it’s difficult because we as a group of players are trying as hard, as a group of players, as Coventry, or Doncaster. But we are not as good at this moment in time.
“Players will get better with respect to making key footballing decisions.
“We are in a completely different situation that Wycombe and six years ago they nearly went out of the league on goal difference. Bristol Rovers went down. You look at what has happened to them, a smaller club, but they got the siege mentality and they are always fighting as underdogs.”
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Defeats against Coventry City and Doncaster Rovers have snuffed out much of the hope among supporters that a bid to escape relegation is still a possibility.
Hill says he will not give up on his “Impossible Dream” which continues with the visit of Wycombe tomorrow.
But the Bolton boss has attempted to reason with critics who have surfaced since victory against Tranmere in the last home game, and claims progress is being made in stabilising the club even if results have yet to reflect his point of view.
“Sometimes you have to look back at the past to realise how far you have come and there are a lot of comparisons being made with respect to where we are now and where we were last season. We have made big progress,” he said.
“Is it evident in results? No. It takes time.
“You can sack me tomorrow and results are not going to change overnight. There’s no quick fix at this football club and people have got to realise that.
“Big Sam Allardyce did amazing but it’s several years since we were there. We are not anymore and we’re still supporting a Premier League club. The reality is we’re in League One and fighting for our lives as a football club, and there are transitional phases that we’re still going through since the summer and it’s a lot of pain.”
Since arriving in August, Hill has had two busy transfer windows and used 32 different players.
Restricted by a transfer embargo, which limits the squad to 23 professional contracts, he says the situation he inherited has been quite unlike anything he has handled before.
But the Boltonian refuses to write off the rest of the season – or condemn his players for their recent performances.
“The belief is there,” he said. “We do know what we’re doing. We’ve been dealt a continually difficult hand.
“It’s tough when you are playing against established League One sides like Doncaster who can purposefully make four changes to key players from the weekend to keep people fresh.
“We are expected to go there and dominate? I don’t see where that is going to be evident at this stage of our development as a football club and as a team.
“We have probably changed our team three times during the course of the 23 league games I’ve experiences as a manager here. And I wouldn’t have done that in seven years elsewhere.”
Hill compared Wanderers to other clubs who have faced administration and dropped into the fourth tier and while that does not spare him from criticism, he believes a certain amount of foresight is needed when looking at the whole picture.
“It’s still a results driven business, there’s no question about that but there are anomalies all over the show,” he said. “This is not any different to what Coventry have been through, or Portsmouth, but fortunately from our perspective we’re not having to go through what Bury went through, or Hereford United back in the day.
“It is the start of a new horizon but it’s difficult because we as a group of players are trying as hard, as a group of players, as Coventry, or Doncaster. But we are not as good at this moment in time.
“Players will get better with respect to making key footballing decisions.
“We are in a completely different situation that Wycombe and six years ago they nearly went out of the league on goal difference. Bristol Rovers went down. You look at what has happened to them, a smaller club, but they got the siege mentality and they are always fighting as underdogs.”
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