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Playing at Wembley must have seemed a million miles away for Gethin Jones when he pulled a Wanderers shirt on for the first time in the Covid-hit summer of 2020.
Three days away from officially signing for the club, he was billed as a trialist in a top-secret friendly at Atherton Colls, which stands officially as the first 90 minutes played under Ian Evatt, even though only a handful of lucky socially distanced people were there to witness it.
Since those early days, Jones and Ricardo Santos have been the only ever-presents in several incarnations of Evatt’s constantly evolving side in the last three years, and the Welshman has been the one on the biggest emotional journey.
Jones admits coping with his mother Karen’s diagnosis with Motor Neurone Disease, then her sad passing last March, would not have been possible without the support he has received from staff, team-mates and fans at Wanderers.
And he feels the opportunity to step out in next weekend’s Papa Johns Trophy final against Plymouth Argyle and lift Bolton’s first domestic cup since 1989 would be a fitting way to show his appreciation.
“More than anything, me, Rico and gaffer have been here since the very start, the point where the club was at its rock bottom and we were trying to get it back to where it belongs,” he told The Bolton News.
“So, to get the whole fanbase together to go down to Wembley and experience that will be a fantastic day. It will be brilliant if we can lift a trophy at the end of it.
“I have been through a lot since being at Bolton but I can honestly say I couldn’t have been at a better place because they have helped me so much with everything, especially the stuff going on off the pitch with my mum.
“I have always said I owed them something. They have helped me out so much it would mean a lot to be able to get them back to where they belong.
“For me, promotion is the main objective, but we’d said from the start that this competition would be taken very seriously. People don’t tend to do that for some reason but from the first game we all knew this would be a big chance to get to Wembley and win a trophy. Not everyone gets to do that in their career, so it is a big chance.”
Wanderers have indeed taken the Papa Johns Trophy seriously, and though many supporters stayed at arm’s length in the early stages of the competition, the take up of more than 33,500 tickets so far shows there is a big appetite in the town to see some success.
Few fans will need a reminder of the last time Bolton went to Wembley – a disastrous FA Cup semi-final defeat against Stoke City in 2011 – but those heading for the capital next weekend are doing so in optimistic mood, with the club heading in a positive direction.
“I have got 20-odd family and friends going down there, making a weekend of it, staying the Saturday and Sunday,” Jones said. “Most of my family haven’t been to Wembley either, and I think that is the case for most of the lads here, so it is a really exciting thing for them too.
“It will be a big day for both clubs and the tickets have been selling really well, so nobody will want to go home disappointed. Someone has to, I suppose, but I think the face we are in a final shows how far we have come from where we started off.
“These are the type of games that when you are growing up as a footballer you watch a cup final on the telly and picture yourself running out there and playing in the biggest games. What better place to do that than Wembley?”
Jones has watched from the Wembley stands before. But getting the chance to run out of the tunnel towards what will be an attendance in the mid-70,000s will be an experience of a lifetime.
“The nearest I have got to being involved at Wembley was when I was at Everton and they got to the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United,” he said.
“I was only in the Under-23s, trying to get into the first team squad, but they invited the whole team down with the academy lads, so I have seen what the atmosphere can be like, to be a part of it is incredible.
“To sample that as a player… Well, it will be amazing. I am looking forward to it.”
Before all the fanfare, Ian Evatt and his side will be making every day count on the training ground at Lostock, where the squad will be joined in the coming days by their international contingent of Dion Charles, James Trafford, Luke Mbete, Eoin Toal and Conor Bradley.
Wanderers have largely managed to stay out of the limelight this season, keeping their promotion ambitions low key until recently, and staying within the top six for the vast majority of the season.
Jones hopes to take the same sensible approach in the build-up to the final, where every effort will be made to keep a sense of normality.
“It is a huge stadium, one of the best in the world, but the truth is we have to approach it like it was any other game, one we’d be playing in the league,” he said.
“We know it is a final, it’s a cup competition, and we know Plymouth are a big strong side who have done really well this season. But we all said when we were looking at the semi-finals that it would be better to play them rather than Cheltenham, just because of the whole occasion, bigger fanbase, it will make it a bigger day for everyone.
“Obviously senior players like me and Rico will have to rein the lads in a bit in training and make sure everyone is focussed and working hard, like it was a league game. We can’t get caught up in the occasion too much.”
Wanderers have not beaten Plymouth Argyle in four meetings since they returned to League One last season. Indeed, Andy Walker and Mark Seagraves were on the scoresheet when they last beat the Pilgrims back in 1993.
But Jones feels confident that despite taking only one point from the two games this season, that Bolton deserved better than they got.
“We were frustrated when we played down there away,” he said. “We felt we should have had at least a point down there.
“Obviously we missed some clear cut chances in that game and it was the same sort of thing at home, we just couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net.
“Looking on from the bench, the lads looked strong and comfortable, we just couldn’t get ahead.
“I think the squad has improved. We have some new lads in now, some of them are coming back from injury, I think it is building towards us looking strong in the final, so we just have to go out there and give it everything.”
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