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Neil Lennon has vowed to shake a “malaise” out of Wanderers and get his new squad playing to their potential.
Just a few days into his tenure with the Whites the Northern Irishman has already set about blowing the cobwebs out at Euxton.
Concentrating exclusively on the short-term aim of escaping the bottom three, Lennon has started galvanising a squad short on confidence after just one win in their first 11 league games.
Wanderers’ first chance to do something about their league position will come this weekend with a trip to Birmingham City.
And the new boss makes no apologies for setting higher expectations so soon after his arrival.
“The bar has to be raised,” he said. “I want the team spirit better as well.
“There has been a malaise for whatever reason and we need to change that.
“They are demands but demands within the realms of their ability. I’m not going to start asking them to do things they can’t do.
“I’m not a bully or a dictator. I don’t think that’s the way you get the best out of players. You have to evolve and understand the culture of the dressing room. Once they get to know me better there should be no problem.
“They might need a little bit of TLC but I am not here to feel sorry for them. I’m here to get results.
“I came into Celtic at a difficult time and I changed it round there so I’m optimistic I can do the same at Bolton.”
Lennon was joined by assistant Johan Mjallby and first team coach Garry Parker for the first time yesterday morning.
Saturday’s game will be Lennon’s first taste of management in the Championship and his first taste of football in the dugout since May when he took charge of Celtic for the final time in a 3-1 win against Dundee United.
Back then his all-conquering Hoops had lost just twice in 24 outings, winning the title by some 30 points.
“I’m fairly sure that the level of the Championship won’t be too dissimilar to the SPL,” he said.
“There may be a few teams who are a little bit better, Celtic certainly, but the variety is far better. You play four teams a season there and that’s why I wanted to change, I wanted the variety of tactics.
“It’s more of a level playing field in the Championship, the results are more unpredictable,” he said. “But what we haven’t done is to play to the potential that I think our fans and I know our board would expect.
“I just want to find a consistency of performance. We’re not scoring enough goals and we’re conceding too many – that’s two big problems to sort out right there.
“What did surprise me when I came here is how big this club is. We need to match that on the field and get the fans going again. ”
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Just a few days into his tenure with the Whites the Northern Irishman has already set about blowing the cobwebs out at Euxton.
Concentrating exclusively on the short-term aim of escaping the bottom three, Lennon has started galvanising a squad short on confidence after just one win in their first 11 league games.
Wanderers’ first chance to do something about their league position will come this weekend with a trip to Birmingham City.
And the new boss makes no apologies for setting higher expectations so soon after his arrival.
“The bar has to be raised,” he said. “I want the team spirit better as well.
“There has been a malaise for whatever reason and we need to change that.
“They are demands but demands within the realms of their ability. I’m not going to start asking them to do things they can’t do.
“I’m not a bully or a dictator. I don’t think that’s the way you get the best out of players. You have to evolve and understand the culture of the dressing room. Once they get to know me better there should be no problem.
“They might need a little bit of TLC but I am not here to feel sorry for them. I’m here to get results.
“I came into Celtic at a difficult time and I changed it round there so I’m optimistic I can do the same at Bolton.”
Lennon was joined by assistant Johan Mjallby and first team coach Garry Parker for the first time yesterday morning.
Saturday’s game will be Lennon’s first taste of management in the Championship and his first taste of football in the dugout since May when he took charge of Celtic for the final time in a 3-1 win against Dundee United.
Back then his all-conquering Hoops had lost just twice in 24 outings, winning the title by some 30 points.
“I’m fairly sure that the level of the Championship won’t be too dissimilar to the SPL,” he said.
“There may be a few teams who are a little bit better, Celtic certainly, but the variety is far better. You play four teams a season there and that’s why I wanted to change, I wanted the variety of tactics.
“It’s more of a level playing field in the Championship, the results are more unpredictable,” he said. “But what we haven’t done is to play to the potential that I think our fans and I know our board would expect.
“I just want to find a consistency of performance. We’re not scoring enough goals and we’re conceding too many – that’s two big problems to sort out right there.
“What did surprise me when I came here is how big this club is. We need to match that on the field and get the fans going again. ”
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