Goalscorer against Sheffield United says new management team have had big impact following pre-season and opening day victory
Jay Spearing says there is a new belief among the Bolton Wanderers players following a positive pre-season and opening day victory.
The Trotters’ Sky Bet League One campaign kicked off with a 1-0 victory over Sheffield United on Saturday, with Spearing’s eye-catching goal the difference.
And after Phil Parkinson and a new backroom team at Wanderers led the side through a successful pre-season campaign, Spearing says there has been a notable change in mentality amongst the playing squad.
“Last season was difficult for all involved,” he said. “We want to put that behind us now. We’ve had a good pre-season. The manager has come in and has given the lads a lot of confidence and I think that is showing.
“It’s not just the manager, but all of the staff he has brought in with him have been excellent. Pre-season has been really positive and we want to put right some wrongs.
“I didn’t play as much as I would have liked last season. It was a difficult situation for me personally, but I’ve kept working hard throughout and thankfully the gaffer has given me a chance.”
Spearing, whose eighth goal in a Bolton shirt secured three points against Sheffield United, also highlighted the important of starting the season with a positive result, saying: “It was always going to be important getting off to a good start. Sheffield United are a good side and they brought a really good following.
“If the goals keep coming I won’t complain. When the ball came to me on the edge of the box I just fancied it and thankfully it has gone in and got us the three points.
“We were under pressure for the first 20 minutes. They had a lot of chances, but we worked hard as a team and got through that difficult period. When we got the goal I thought we really grew into the game and in the second half I thought we were the better side.
“We were unlucky to go down to ten men, but obviously there was nothing we could have done about that. In the end we worked hard and got the result we wanted.”