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Josh Sheehan hopes to make this the most successful season of his career for club and country.
The Wanderers playmaker was voted into the PFA’s team of the year this week alongside team-mate Ricardo Santos, having already picked up player of the year for his club back in May.
The Welshman also captained his country for the first time in a friendly against Gibraltar the following month – but he is confident his peak is yet to come.
Asked what his targets are this season, he said: “Exactly the same again and even better, to be honest.
“That’s my aim, I want to be better every game. Every game I play I want to be the best, and hopefully this season I can be even better than last year and get the same sort of accolades.”
Sheehan has started both league games so far in what has been an unbeaten start for Wanderers, and is optimistic that the ‘hangover’ many anticipated after the play-off final defeat to Oxford United is not going to hamper the club’s chase for promotion.
“Last season didn’t end how we wanted and that’s what a lot of people remember – the last bit,” he said. “But if you look throughout the whole season, we obviously won a lot more games than we lost. We didn’t do too many things wrong.
“The way the manager has come back and the tweak in formation we feel will benefit us going forward, to make that little change we maybe needed to get those extra few points which is all we missed out on last year.”
Sheehan also finds himself at a crossroads with Wales, who appointed Craig Bellamy as their new manager in July and will next month launch into a new campaign in the Nations League.
The 29-year-old was trusted with the captain’s armband by previous boss Rob Page, the goalless draw proving to be one of his final games in charge.
Sheehan is now looking to prove himself all over again with the new man in charge.
“For me, it was one of the biggest honours I could have in my career, to captain Wales,” he said. “The results didn’t go our way but for me and my family, it was something special, something I’ll never forget and always cherish.
“There’s a new era now with a new manager and when there’s a new manager, that brings new plans and a new identity which I think is probably a good thing for Wales because we’ve got some good players.
“I think there are exciting times ahead for Welsh football and for the national team under a new manager to go and do things we want to do.
“I always want to play for Wales. It’s what I dreamt of as a kid and I want to do it for as long as I can. My goal is just to play well for Bolton and I feel that will take care of itself. If (Bellamy) is watching or peeking an eye out, then for me it’s to do as well as I can in every opportunity I get.”
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