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David Wheater reckons car share buddy Eidur Gudjohnsen might be the man to add drive to Wanderers’ play-off ambitions.
The big defender’s return to action against Ipswich Town was overshadowed somewhat by the Icelander, who stepped off the bench to play his first game for the Whites in 14 years.
No doubt the 0-0 draw against the Tractor Boys will be the topic of discussion when the pair drive down the M61 towards training this week.
But Wanderers’ self-appointed star chauffer doesn’t mind his new duties, provided his passenger is doing the business on the pitch.
“I’ve been looking after him, opening doors for him, serving his dinner – stuff like that,” Wheater told The Bolton News.
“He’s been top drawer. He’s got all the experience in the world at Barcelona with the Lionel Messis of this world. What can you do?
“It’s good we can get that kind of quality player. If he’d have come a few months ago he might not have wanted to stay.
“Now training is good, the manager is great with everyone, we’re coming in happy and, hopefully, that means we’re winning games.
“I want him to get a car, though. He does my head in sometimes.
“He listens to the same music I do, which is fine, but when he gets on the phone he’s chatting away in Icelandic so I have to sit there for five minutes not talking.”
At 36, Gudjohnsen may be a short-term measure for Neil Lennon, who needed to compensate for Chung-Yong Lee’s absence at the Asia Cup in January.
But Wheater believes the striker can play on for a good while yet, even if he claims he has marked him out of training games thus far.
“It’s easy for me,” he laughed. “It’s weird because he says he’s lost a bit of pace but he’s got the strength, so he knows exactly where you are going so he can hold you off. His touch is unbelievable.
“He can play for a few years. He lives his life right, he doesn’t go out much, and that always helps.
“When he does fitness work he looks good so hopefully he can stay injury free.”
Since Gudjohnsen left Bolton in 2000, he has won a glittering array of trophies at some of Europe’s top clubs but Wheater insists he does not dwell on his past glories at all.
“No – and I’ve tried to get it out of him as well,” he said. “I asked him where he lived, whether it was near Messi, and tried to get an invite in the summer.
“He doesn’t really mention it. I try to get him chatting about Messi and Chelsea, John Terry and that, but he doesn’t give much away, he just wants to concentrate on Bolton.
“I think he’s modest. But if someone had a go at him he’d throw a Champions League medal at them.”
The draw against Ipswich was also a big day for Wheater, who has not featured since injuring his back prior to kick-off in a 1-0 defeat at Leeds United back in late August.
While the fairytale return didn’t quite pan out – with no late goal for either him or Gudjohnsen, the former Middlesbrough defender was pleased to be involved again.
“It’s brilliant to be back,” he said. “I’ve trained hard for it.
“I did my back and it was a rubbish injury, picking it up in the warm-up (at Leeds).
“It was probably the most painful one I’ve had but I’ve worked really hard to get back in the team. Hopefully I can stay there.
“I understand why I’ve had to wait. The lads have been playing well, winning games, but I can only train as hard as I can and see what comes up.
“But this was a good point. You can see why Ipswich are second in the league because you can’t really get through them. They sit in very well.
“It was a really tough game but we got the clean sheet, a draw and it feels much better than a loss.”
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The big defender’s return to action against Ipswich Town was overshadowed somewhat by the Icelander, who stepped off the bench to play his first game for the Whites in 14 years.
No doubt the 0-0 draw against the Tractor Boys will be the topic of discussion when the pair drive down the M61 towards training this week.
But Wanderers’ self-appointed star chauffer doesn’t mind his new duties, provided his passenger is doing the business on the pitch.
“I’ve been looking after him, opening doors for him, serving his dinner – stuff like that,” Wheater told The Bolton News.
“He’s been top drawer. He’s got all the experience in the world at Barcelona with the Lionel Messis of this world. What can you do?
“It’s good we can get that kind of quality player. If he’d have come a few months ago he might not have wanted to stay.
“Now training is good, the manager is great with everyone, we’re coming in happy and, hopefully, that means we’re winning games.
“I want him to get a car, though. He does my head in sometimes.
“He listens to the same music I do, which is fine, but when he gets on the phone he’s chatting away in Icelandic so I have to sit there for five minutes not talking.”
At 36, Gudjohnsen may be a short-term measure for Neil Lennon, who needed to compensate for Chung-Yong Lee’s absence at the Asia Cup in January.
But Wheater believes the striker can play on for a good while yet, even if he claims he has marked him out of training games thus far.
“It’s easy for me,” he laughed. “It’s weird because he says he’s lost a bit of pace but he’s got the strength, so he knows exactly where you are going so he can hold you off. His touch is unbelievable.
“He can play for a few years. He lives his life right, he doesn’t go out much, and that always helps.
“When he does fitness work he looks good so hopefully he can stay injury free.”
Since Gudjohnsen left Bolton in 2000, he has won a glittering array of trophies at some of Europe’s top clubs but Wheater insists he does not dwell on his past glories at all.
“No – and I’ve tried to get it out of him as well,” he said. “I asked him where he lived, whether it was near Messi, and tried to get an invite in the summer.
“He doesn’t really mention it. I try to get him chatting about Messi and Chelsea, John Terry and that, but he doesn’t give much away, he just wants to concentrate on Bolton.
“I think he’s modest. But if someone had a go at him he’d throw a Champions League medal at them.”
The draw against Ipswich was also a big day for Wheater, who has not featured since injuring his back prior to kick-off in a 1-0 defeat at Leeds United back in late August.
While the fairytale return didn’t quite pan out – with no late goal for either him or Gudjohnsen, the former Middlesbrough defender was pleased to be involved again.
“It’s brilliant to be back,” he said. “I’ve trained hard for it.
“I did my back and it was a rubbish injury, picking it up in the warm-up (at Leeds).
“It was probably the most painful one I’ve had but I’ve worked really hard to get back in the team. Hopefully I can stay there.
“I understand why I’ve had to wait. The lads have been playing well, winning games, but I can only train as hard as I can and see what comes up.
“But this was a good point. You can see why Ipswich are second in the league because you can’t really get through them. They sit in very well.
“It was a really tough game but we got the clean sheet, a draw and it feels much better than a loss.”
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