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George Johnston has revealed how Coldplay could help Wanderers in their promotion push.
Ian Evatt’s side have been experimenting with their pre-match preparations, including the music they listen to in the dressing room and out on the pitch during the warm-up.
Assembling a playlist which is suitable for public consumption has proved problematic for the squad, with a number of suggestions deemed a bit too blue for the UniBol regulars.
But Coldplay fan Johnston has come to the rescue with his own mix, which was aired for the first time before Tuesday’s 0-0 draw with Derby County.
The Chris Martin-fronted band played the Reebok Stadium in 2005 and made the video for their hit song “Fix You” with scenes of the concert.
Now Coldplay could be playing an unknowing part in revving up the Bolton players for the rest of the season.
“I got a text saying we needed some music to pump up the lads while they are getting warmed up, so we put a few songs together,” Johnston told us.
“There was a mix – modern stuff like Travis Scott to things like Coldplay. You have to be careful what you ask for because of the fans as well, it’s quite tough, but we got there in the end.
“I feel like we hadn’t been starting games well but in the past couple of games, Exeter and Derby, I felt like we’d started on the front foot, taking the game to them.
“It’s about building that atmosphere up in the changing room as you go out and then once you get out there on the pitch it is about what the 11 of us can do.”
More than 25,000 fans poured into the stadium for the last home game of the year, creating the biggest crowd since Wanderers dropped out of the Premier League in 2012.
The current average crowd of 18,675 is the highest achieved by the club in a decade, and playing in front of packed houses on a weekly basis has meant an adjustment for some of the younger players in the squad, Johnston admits.
“It is a different mindset, you have to find ways to contain your emotion in front of a big crowd like that,” he said. “It is difficult for some of the younger lads, as we saw a couple of times last season.
“Keeping your mind focussed on the way we want to play, the way we can play, is difficult but I think we are getting better.”
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