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Jack Iredale has had plenty of time to think about Wanderers’ promotion near-miss as he worked to rehabilitate in the gym over the summer, but the Australian defender has come to a positive conclusion.
Just 68 days on from defeat against Oxford United at Wembley, Ian Evatt’s squad are trying hard to turn a new page.
Talk has been positive and forward-facing, fresh blood and opinions have been added on the coaching and playing staff. The whole club seems eager to escape the shadow of the play-off final as quickly as possible.
One legacy which has been difficult to shake, however, is a collection of minor injuries carried through by the likes of Iredale, Dion Charles, Gethin Jones, Randell Williams and Kyle Dempsey, reminders of last season’s significant exertion which have also bitten into preparation for the campaign ahead.
Iredale was able to make his playing return at Chorley on Tuesday night, a milestone he has been looking forward to reaching after making progress with a troublesome hip and groin problem carried for several months.
The pain of Wembley, he admitted, won’t fade easily, but like the hours of rehab undertaken by the defender in the Lostock gym this summer, it could eventually be used for something good.
“Obviously that hurt for a long, long time,” he told The Bolton News. “But you need to channel that emotion into more motivation going into this season. We know as a group what we’re striving for and, so far, I think the mood in the camp, the intensity and the direction we’re moving is a positive one.
“The lads who have come in have added to that. Everyone is a year older, a year wiser, and it will only leave us in good stead.”
Iredale started 13 of Bolton’s first 15 games last season but in managing a complicated injury his name was in the starting line-up just eight times in the final 18 matches, including the play-offs.
He came on as a substitute against Oxford at Wembley – a 30-minute cameo which compared favourably against most others in a white shirt that afternoon – but he is now relieved to be making some progress on the fitness front.
“It’s not ideal but I have been working really hard to get back to this point,” he said. “I was only off for two weeks and then back in with the physios – they didn’t really get a summer either because they were stuck in there with me.
“I am just happy to be back involved, pushing the lads and fighting for a spot in the team come the start of the season.”
Explaining the injury, he told us: “It was almost an over-use injury for the hip and groin.
“It was the intensity of the season last year which added up, we think. I though the time off would help but it actually ended up feeling worse with the rest.
“It is a tricky one to manage, it isn’t really textbook. I’m pushing it and seeing how it feels the next day but then going again harder.
“So far so good, hopefully we can keep going in that direction.”
Ian Evatt remarked in midweek that this is the first time in his managerial career that so many players have carried minor injuries into a new season, and he remains without half a dozen first teamers for Friday night’s third pre-season outing against Fiorentina at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.
The line between ‘fit’ and ‘injured’ often blurs towards the end of a campaign, not least one that included 61 games as Bolton’s marathon effort did in 2023/24.
Iredale said: “I think if you ask any professional footballer you rarely go into a game 100 per cent, that’s just the intensity of what we do, especially at this level and at a club like Bolton where the demands the manager and the team put on you are really high.
“I don’t think you play more games in any other league than you do in this one, so every other week you’ll be carrying something. There are ways to manage it and we’re working as hard as we can to do the best we can.
“Everyone wants to go into pre-season firing and not missing days but everyone is working really hard – we have a good, competitive, strong squad. Potentially there are more coming in as well, I don’t know what the plans are yet.
“But we have three games coming up now, all against really good teams, so they are going to be vital minutes for everyone.”
Serie A Fiorentina have been runners-up in the Europa Conference League for the last two years and finished eighth in Serie A.
They have added a couple of players to their squad already this summer, including the £13million ex-Everton striker Moise Kean from Juventus and £15m Croatia international Marin Pongracic.
La Viola have a second friendly against Preston North End the following day, so will split their squad accordingly, but Iredale is looking forward to the challenge.
“It will be interesting to see the quality and calibre of the players,” he said. “We know they will be top quality and we’re keen to test ourselves against maybe a different culture of football as well.”
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