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Wanderers defender Eoin Toal is improving every game, insists team-mate Dion Charles.
Toal made a big impression during the second half of last season following his move from Derry City, which was initially impacted by injury.
The 24-year-old had another spell on the sidelines in the summer but slotted back into the Bolton backline seamlessly.
Toal’s consistent performances in League One earned a first call-up to the Northern Ireland squad in March and his debut came in a 1-0 defeat against Slovenia last month.
He will be hoping to get more minutes on the pitch during the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Finland and Denmark.
Charles, who is also away on international duty with Northern Ireland, has been impressed with the defender’s development since arriving in the North West.
“Eoin has been brilliant since he came over to Bolton last season,” he told Cool FM News. “He had to wait until Christmas for a chance and took it in his stride.
“He is getting better every game and watching him in the last campaign game, against one of the world’s best strikers arguably (Benjamin Sesko), he held his own.
“It is credit to him, where he has come from, how well he has been coached at the club and what he is like as a character. He wants to improve and get better so every credit to him.”
Northern Ireland are no longer able to qualify for next summer’s tournament in Germany, but Michael O’Neill hopes they can finish on a high note.
“I look forward to all of the games. I think this is part of the growth of the team, for the players it’s the challenge of dealing with international football,” he explained.
“We’ve had difficult games, Kazakhstan was as difficult an away game as you can get in international football. You’ll play bigger teams, bigger players, but it’s the logistics of that and how you deal with that.
“This is all part of it for the players. For a lot of them this is their first experience of playing double-headers in international football.
“You have to deal with a scenario of going away from home, coming back and then preparing and be ready for a really good Danish team.
“They’re all things that can only help us. The team can only benefit from that experience.”
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