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Eoin Doyle couldn’t help but smile when Wanderers were paired with his former club Bradford City in this week’s Carabao Cup draw.
The striker has few bad words to say about his former employers despite spending a difficult 12 months in their service, which included relegation to League Two.
But while he freely accepts Bradford fans did not see the best of him at Valley Parade – the the sting will be taken out of their reunion when the two sides meet behind closed doors at the UniBol next month.
“We were out training when the draw was made and the gaffer came out to tell us who we got – and you could tell he was directing it straight at me,” he told The Bolton News.
“I suppose with no fans it spares me getting booed every time I touch the ball.
“Despite everything that happened there I made some good friends and it will be nice to see them again but in terms of the game, I can’t lie, I’ll be looking to score.”
Doyle topped the scoring charts in his only full season at Bradford but his 11 goals could not stop the Yorkshiremen slipping through the relegation trapdoor into the fourth tier for the first time since Phil Parkinson led them out via the play-offs in 2013.
Stuart McCall’s side are expected to be among the promotion candidates once again this season and will be backed, as usual, by one of the lower league’s biggest support bases.
“They are another club who will feel they should be playing further up the pyramid,” Doyle said. “You look at the fanbase they have got, it’s a big club.
“And I know from experience that Valley Parade can be a cauldron. I hope when the fixtures come out that we get a chance to play there when the fans will be allowed back in because I’m sure the place will be rocking.”
Just the opportunity to talk about games with something at stake has notched up the levels of excitement at the training ground this week, and on Friday Wanderers will be able to map out a league campaign they hope will result in promotion.
“You can sense the feeling around the lads, we haven’t played a proper game since March and they honestly can’t wait to get going properly,” he said. “It has been a long time since we felt that buzz.
“We have got a couple of pre-season friendlies where the standard of the opposition will be that bit tougher, so I think that will be a good yardstick for where we are at.
“So far the teams we have faced have been non-league, so we have been able to be in control of games, but we know the levels have to go up now. We can’t wait for it.”
Wanderers have two pre-season friendlies planned before the Bradford game and could yet follow the lead of several other sides by switching their opening EFL Trophy match to the last weekend in August.
Bradford boss McCall will also fine-tune his side in the coming weeks and is looking forward to visiting the UniBol.
“When I think of Bolton, I always think of good memories,” he said. “The last time I was there, we had almost 4,500 City fans for the 0-0 draw. It was the highest away following that day, including the Premier League.
“Obviously, it can’t be like that but it’s something that we can look forward to.
“It’s a good test for us against a team from our division on a nice big park. I think they are well tipped to go straight back up but I’m not unhappy about the draw at all.
“The key thing is that we won’t have to change the date of the fixture.
“The side we’re going to be playing (in a friendly) on Saturday August 29 haven’t drawn a Championship team either, so we know that can go ahead.
“Then we’ll have a game that week (in the EFL Trophy) although we’re waiting to find out who it’s going to be against.”
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The striker has few bad words to say about his former employers despite spending a difficult 12 months in their service, which included relegation to League Two.
But while he freely accepts Bradford fans did not see the best of him at Valley Parade – the the sting will be taken out of their reunion when the two sides meet behind closed doors at the UniBol next month.
“We were out training when the draw was made and the gaffer came out to tell us who we got – and you could tell he was directing it straight at me,” he told The Bolton News.
“I suppose with no fans it spares me getting booed every time I touch the ball.
“Despite everything that happened there I made some good friends and it will be nice to see them again but in terms of the game, I can’t lie, I’ll be looking to score.”
Doyle topped the scoring charts in his only full season at Bradford but his 11 goals could not stop the Yorkshiremen slipping through the relegation trapdoor into the fourth tier for the first time since Phil Parkinson led them out via the play-offs in 2013.
Stuart McCall’s side are expected to be among the promotion candidates once again this season and will be backed, as usual, by one of the lower league’s biggest support bases.
“They are another club who will feel they should be playing further up the pyramid,” Doyle said. “You look at the fanbase they have got, it’s a big club.
“And I know from experience that Valley Parade can be a cauldron. I hope when the fixtures come out that we get a chance to play there when the fans will be allowed back in because I’m sure the place will be rocking.”
Just the opportunity to talk about games with something at stake has notched up the levels of excitement at the training ground this week, and on Friday Wanderers will be able to map out a league campaign they hope will result in promotion.
“You can sense the feeling around the lads, we haven’t played a proper game since March and they honestly can’t wait to get going properly,” he said. “It has been a long time since we felt that buzz.
“We have got a couple of pre-season friendlies where the standard of the opposition will be that bit tougher, so I think that will be a good yardstick for where we are at.
“So far the teams we have faced have been non-league, so we have been able to be in control of games, but we know the levels have to go up now. We can’t wait for it.”
Wanderers have two pre-season friendlies planned before the Bradford game and could yet follow the lead of several other sides by switching their opening EFL Trophy match to the last weekend in August.
Bradford boss McCall will also fine-tune his side in the coming weeks and is looking forward to visiting the UniBol.
“When I think of Bolton, I always think of good memories,” he said. “The last time I was there, we had almost 4,500 City fans for the 0-0 draw. It was the highest away following that day, including the Premier League.
“Obviously, it can’t be like that but it’s something that we can look forward to.
“It’s a good test for us against a team from our division on a nice big park. I think they are well tipped to go straight back up but I’m not unhappy about the draw at all.
“The key thing is that we won’t have to change the date of the fixture.
“The side we’re going to be playing (in a friendly) on Saturday August 29 haven’t drawn a Championship team either, so we know that can go ahead.
“Then we’ll have a game that week (in the EFL Trophy) although we’re waiting to find out who it’s going to be against.”
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