Ken Anderson looks ahead to next season and speaks regarding season tickets in his latest column to the club's supporters
Even though our league campaign finished just four days ago, plans are already well underway as we look towards the 2017/18 Sky Bet Championship season.
Since Sunday afternoon, celebration has been very much the key focus for the players, coaching staff and the staff members down at Macron Stadium, and rightly so – our success in 2016/17 was a result of hard work from all areas of the business.
In the midst of that however, we know that the hard work ahead of next season starts now and that applies to the football club as a whole.
Next season is really made or broken in this key period and although we will look back over 2016/17 and be proud of what we achieved, we now need to look forward as we aim to progress.
Our finance team are currently working with myself on a business plan and budgets for next season – something which we were not afforded the luxury of for the season just gone.
As we head into the second tier of English football once again, our ambitions are clear – we are determined to build a competitive squad which will make their own mark on the Sky Bet Championship.
Plans for this are already in place and there are already meetings set to take place next week with the manager and the players who are out of contract this summer.
As it has been widely reported, we have 17 players who will be out of contract and it is important that we put down our marker now with them as to how we see the future of not only them as individuals, but the club as a whole.
Many of those players have certainly proven their worth during the course of last season and while there will no doubt be some difficult decisions to make, between myself and Phil Parkinson, we will make the right ones for Bolton Wanderers.
The manager himself recently spoke of the spirit that he and his team have created here this season – something which, I am sure you will agree, was crucial in us securing automatic promotion.
We will also be looking to add strength-in-depth ahead of what will be a long and challenging campaign come August, but hopefully a fruitful one.
After the uncertainty of last year, it is crucial that we hit the ground running when the players return for pre-season training and with this in mind, our pre-season training camp is already booked and we are planning for a number of friendly fixtures.
Off the pitch meanwhile, we also want to manage the football club on sound foundations and work under a sustainable and commercial business plan going forward.
The days of losing £12-20 million a year have to be well and truly behind us and I know that you are all on the same page with myself in that respect.
Being in the Sky Bet Championship next season however means that we will benefit from the publicity that comes with it and that will no doubt reflect in our commercial revenues across the business.
We also launched our 2017/18 Sky Bet Championship season ticket campaign earlier this week and we have been delighted with how sales have been during these early stages.
The club has received some feedback regarding the pricing structure, so I would like to take this opportunity to update you all on how we came to the decision.
It is important to remember that the prices have been held at the same level as our last time in the Sky Bet Championship in 2015/16 with a small increase to reflect inflation.
The club has to live within its means to avoid the mistakes of the past and for us to remain and be competitive in this division, there are associated costs.
Since I arrived at Bolton Wanderers Football Club I've already reduced expenditure for the benefit of the club and I am constantly looking at ways of driving revenue.
Our return to the Championship represents an opportunity for a new financial beginning and we must ensure that we build and operate a sustainable business plan both on and off the field.
There are still a great deal of areas to be addressed , but slowly and surely we are working through this. We appreciate that a season ticket is a significant expense for any football supporter and we truly appreciate and value the commitment you show throughout the season.
The support we have received both home and away has been exceptional and every supporter – especially season ticket holders – have played a key role in our success.
With this in mind, I hope that many of you will take the opportunity to join us for what promises to be an exciting campaign in 2017/18, with tickets available to purchase here. Our special promotion commemorating book, Wanderers Return, can also be pre-ordered here with fans who purchase before May 11 able to have their name printed on the Roll of Honour.
We are together, and together we will succeed.
Kind regards,
Ken