Preview: Five talking points ahead of St Mirren v Bolton Wanderers

Wanderers get their pre-season fixture schedule underway in the Scottish town of Paisley as they travel to the Simple Digital Arena to take on Scottish Premier League new boys St Mirren on Saturday lunchtime.

And ahead of the game, bwfc.co.uk has highlighted five key talking points surrounding the fixture...

1. Back on the field

It doesn’t feel like two minutes ago that Wanderers were securing their Sky Bet Championship status with a dramatic late victory against Nottingham Forest at Macron Stadium in early May, but after a lovely warm summer, club football is back!

Most of us will have been tuned into the World Cup exploits in Russia in recent weeks, but tomorrow Phil Parkinson’s men return to action north of the border, taking on St. Mirren - a chance for the lads to get some match minutes under their belts.

2. New faces

So far this summer, three new faces have been brought in and added to Wanderers' squad with Jason Lowe, Erhun Oztumer and Clayton Donaldson will likely be involved at some stage in tomorrow’s friendly clash at St. Mirren.

Lowe, a defensive midfielder, arrives after leaving Birmingham City; Oztumer is a creative midfielder with an eye for goal who joins after two seasons at Walsall and Donaldson is an experienced forward who is about to enter his fifth successive season at this level and was with Sheffield United last season.

3. Key details

Tomorrow’s game will kick-off at 12.30pm after it has initially been scheduled to get underway at 3pm.

Travelling supporters will be located in the North Stand and there is a ticket office located there where tickets can be purchased before heading to the turnstiles, while tickets cost £12 for adults and £6 for concessions.

4. Championship winning opponents

St. Mirren will still be riding on the crest of a wave following a 2017/18 season which saw them crowned as Ladbrokes Championship Champions, finishing 12 points ahead of their nearest competitors, Livingston.

The Buddies will now compete in the top flight again after a three year absence and will provide Wanderers with a tough challenge to open up pre-season with.

5. Ex-Wanderers

Tomorrow’s hosts lost their manager over the summer with Jack Ross, the man who guided the club to promotion, opting to leave in favour of taking the managerial vacancy at newly-relegated Sky Bet League One side Sunderland.

Ross was replaced by Alan Stubbs, a man known well by Wanderers fans after six years with the club in the 1990s. The Kirby born former defender began his career at Burnden Park in 1990 and remained with the club until 1996 when he joined Celtic.

A young man who could also come up against a former employer tomorrow is Jeff King. The 22 year-old was released in the summer after an 18 month association with the Whites and he signed for St Mirren shortly afterwards.

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