Transcript of the key points from Ken Anderson's first press conference as Bolton Wanderers chairman
Bolton Wanderers chairman Ken Anderson spoke to the media for the first time since becoming joint majority shareholder of the club with partner Dean Holdsworth.
Anderson covered the below key points with the media.
On his feelings getting the deal done…
I’m very happy to be here. It’s a great opportunity and we’re delighted to be here. This is a club with a fantastic history and we want to restore some of that.
On the plan going forward…
We want to get promoted from League One next season. We’re looking to bring in a strong team at board level through to football management level. They both have to run the football club on the basis of being successful, as well as our on-site hotel and conference centre.
On key decisions ahead…
I think football-wise, we have to look at which players want to be here next season and which players will perform. We’ll have to see who can perform at our level and realistically some players are going to have to leave. Our revenues are going to drop and we have to look at other ways of generating money.
We’ve already got a plan in place and given our position, we’re going to have to reduce our big cost which at this moment is player salaries. That’s the only real way we can reduce costs immediately.
On the finances…
We’ve spent a lot of time on the financials. We’ve gone through them with a fine tooth comb and we now know what direction we will be heading. We have a commercially viable business plan for next season. I’ve put a certain amount of money in which was given the green light by the Football League.
On the coming season in League One…
We expect our squad to be around 22 or 23 players next season. We have to make sure that our squad is suitable for the level of football we will be playing. We won’t be able to make use of the emergency loan window next season, so our squad has to be robust.
On boardroom structure…
We already know who the board will be. The staff of the club will be told later this week, before we’ll then make a public announcement. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the existing board, but the strength and experience of the people we are bringing in is very good. There are going to be some known names coming in to help run the club.
On the current managerial situation…
We’ve had over 50 applications, which was really encouraging. We’ve had a number of people apply who I wouldn’t have expected to have applied. There was a high standard of applicants, one of whom said he would even walk to Bolton for the job. We’ve cut the list down and we’re now ready to conduct a second round of interviews with the final three candidates.