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When Kieran Sadlier landed at Wanderers in January, he said one of the chief reasons for leaving Rotherham United had been his previous manager’s insistence on playing him at wing-back.
A creative and technically proficient playmaker, Sadlier saw his best position as a number 10 providing chances for the attack in the way he had done for much of his career.
Fast forward a few months, and the 27-year-old smiled knowingly when reminded where he had played most of his games at Bolton to date.
When Marlon Fossey’s season was ended by injury, Ian Evatt called on Sadlier as a wing-back replacement, though he maintains playing the position for Wanderers is a different kettle of fish entirely.
“People say I am still playing in the same position but it’s not at all,” he told The Bolton News. “Playing, training, it is a completely different style working the ball out from the back and playing different patterns.
“Me and Dec (Declan John) are getting on the ball all the time, receiving it and knowing what is around us because we know what we are doing.
“I am getting possession all over the pitch and I am adding goals to it as well. It’s proof I can get forward into good positions and in the last few games I have had some really good chances from just being fit and getting forward.
“If you are fit that position becomes a lot easier. I feel in good shape at the moment, and I am getting up and down.”
There has never been a better time to have the word ‘wing-back’ on your CV as a footballer – and while Sadlier may have been resistant at first, he says he has enjoyed stepping in since Fossey’s departure.
“Even the EFL have picked a 3-5-2, so it is definitely in the vogue formation at the minute,” he said.
“It is good to adapt to different positions and it is not too much different to being a winger when you play a decent style of football.
“Marlon was really good here, more of a full-back and has more of a defensive side to his game as well. He got a few assists and a goal as well.
“It has been good learning for me. Whatever formation we play now I feel like I can adapt.”
Sadlier has certainly shown versatility in his time at Wanderers, filling in on both sides of the pitch as a wing-back, along with all three roles in attack.
He has also flourished with regular football, scoring three times in his last five games and allowing Evatt to change his formation without the need for substitutions.
“My most comfortable position I would probably say is number 10 in the systems we play, but now I look forward to games playing as a wing-back as well because I know I can get forward and score and create,” Sadlier said. “I can do that and I’m fit enough to do that. When you flick halfway through a game, it takes a few minutes to get used to but I think if you know what’s around you, you can just slot in and do a job and just stay focused and not lose concentration and you can do a job in any position.
“I’ve always been fit. I’ve always been fit naturally since I was younger, I always used to do running and stuff. Sharpness I think is a big thing, sharpness in training, and we do a lot of keep ball and a lot of pressing. It keeps you sharp and I think just those triggers to know when to press and when to not. When I’m playing regularly as I am at the moment, I definitely feel really fit and it becomes much easier getting up and down the pitch.
“I think a lot of the way teams play now, you have to be fit. It’s changed a lot and especially the last five years, you have to be fit. You can’t get away with someone in the team not being up to the fitness levels and to be fair, most of the teams I’ve played in, everyone has been fit in the last few years. It’s a big thing.”
Fleetwood provide the final opposition of the season, with the Fylde coast men needing to match or better Gillingham’s result against Rotherham United to avoid relegation.
And Sadlier hopes to end a positive season – which has seen him get into double figures for goals at Bolton and Rotherham - on a high.
“We 100 per cent want to win the game,” he said. “We want to get that 10th spot and we’ll be playing it like every other game.
“I know the other team has a lot riding on it for them with relegation and staying up. They’re going to come here and they’re going to be a few things, they’ll be nervous but they’ll be at it and ready and it’ll be a tough game.
“I’ve played against them once this season and it was a tough game when we played them at my old club. They’ve got some good players and they’ll be bang on it.”
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