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Conor Wilkinson is desperate for Neil Lennon to feed him to the Lions – so he can show Millwall why he was right to quit the club.
After making his first Championship start for Wanderers in the 0-0 draw against Ipswich Town, the Republic of Ireland Under-21 hopes to keep his place as he heads back to the Den.
Wilkinson spent two full seasons with the Londoners as a scholar but snubbed their offer of a professional contract to link up with the Whites in the summer of 2013.
The 19-year-old is gearing up for a hostile reception on his return but insists he has no regrets moving to the North West.
“It wasn’t a difficult decision because Bolton are a much bigger club,” he told The Bolton News. “Physically I was going to get better here and mentally I’ll learn a lot more from the players here. It was a big step up – this is really a Premiership club.
“I need to be mentally focused for it, as best I can.
“The fans there are reckless. If they come for you, they’ll come for you.
“I hope I’ll be okay. My family will be there and they’ll help carry me through it.
“I need to show Millwall why I left - bigger and better things.”
Neil Lennon is not over-blessed with striker options going into Friday night’s game but hopes to add Craig Davies to his squad after a hamstring injury.
Wilkinson and Eidur Gudjohnsen will also make the trip, and the young striker revealed he was offered some advice by his senior strike partner on Saturday after a tough afternoon against Ipswich.
“In the changing room after the game Eidur said to me ‘if you do something wrong, just try to keep things simple or otherwise you’ll end up making more mistakes’” he said.
“I think I was trying too hard, trying to impress; that didn’t work out so the fans were at it even more.
“Eidur just said ‘do things the easy way and that’s how you get it back to normal’ and I’m going to try and take his advice on board.
“He’s won the Champions League, played with Lionel Messi. If I don’t listen to him, who can I listen to?”
On his performance against the Tractor Boys, Wilkinson admits there was room for improvement.
“Physically it was the hardest game of my life. They were tanks – I was beaten to the ball every time, basically,” he said. “It’s a big step up.”
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After making his first Championship start for Wanderers in the 0-0 draw against Ipswich Town, the Republic of Ireland Under-21 hopes to keep his place as he heads back to the Den.
Wilkinson spent two full seasons with the Londoners as a scholar but snubbed their offer of a professional contract to link up with the Whites in the summer of 2013.
The 19-year-old is gearing up for a hostile reception on his return but insists he has no regrets moving to the North West.
“It wasn’t a difficult decision because Bolton are a much bigger club,” he told The Bolton News. “Physically I was going to get better here and mentally I’ll learn a lot more from the players here. It was a big step up – this is really a Premiership club.
“I need to be mentally focused for it, as best I can.
“The fans there are reckless. If they come for you, they’ll come for you.
“I hope I’ll be okay. My family will be there and they’ll help carry me through it.
“I need to show Millwall why I left - bigger and better things.”
Neil Lennon is not over-blessed with striker options going into Friday night’s game but hopes to add Craig Davies to his squad after a hamstring injury.
Wilkinson and Eidur Gudjohnsen will also make the trip, and the young striker revealed he was offered some advice by his senior strike partner on Saturday after a tough afternoon against Ipswich.
“In the changing room after the game Eidur said to me ‘if you do something wrong, just try to keep things simple or otherwise you’ll end up making more mistakes’” he said.
“I think I was trying too hard, trying to impress; that didn’t work out so the fans were at it even more.
“Eidur just said ‘do things the easy way and that’s how you get it back to normal’ and I’m going to try and take his advice on board.
“He’s won the Champions League, played with Lionel Messi. If I don’t listen to him, who can I listen to?”
On his performance against the Tractor Boys, Wilkinson admits there was room for improvement.
“Physically it was the hardest game of my life. They were tanks – I was beaten to the ball every time, basically,” he said. “It’s a big step up.”
Source
