Bolton Wanderers’ talented 22-year-old midfielder, George Thomason claims The Trotters are now in a better place to target a promotion push in comparison to their position 12 months ago; The Bolton News reports.
Prior to a ball being kicked, many tipped Ian Evatt’s men as favourites to achieve promotion, and seven wins from their last eight league fixtures (including five victories in a row) suggests that domestic success is certainly a priority and expectation this season.
Following a 1-1 draw with Peterborough in late September, a sudden dip in form raised a few eye-brows amongst the league’s followers, where they only achieved one win in five after three straight victories to begin their campaign.
Clearly this was an anomaly, as they have been sensational ever since, with a slight blip coming against Carlisle United, in which Jordan Gibson excelled claiming a hat-trick.
The Mancunian outfit currently sit third in the division, whilst being level on points with second placed Oxford United. Eight points better off than seventh placed Derby County, Thomason has his sights set on cementing a place at the top, and avoiding the heartbreak of the play-offs once again.
Referring to the previous campaign, the Barrow -born man believes they have learned from past mistakes and are ‘better suited to winning different types of games’ this time around. He added;
“As much as we want to be an expansive, free flowing, attacking team we also know that teams are going to have spells of pressure and ask us different questions. We have added another string to our bow this year, defending set plays, defending our box, people doing jobs for lads if they are out of position and covering each other. We are learning how to really grind out results in different types of games and doing the other side of it all.”
Amidst strong interest from second tier Bristol City, Thomason rejected the opportunity to move south, instead committing his future to Bolton, by putting pen to paper and agreeing a new contact until 2027.
Originally signed from step nine, non-league outfit Longridge Town in 2020 under former manager Kieth Hill, The Whites ‘4’ has featured 91 times.
When asked about his scintillating form and recent development, he stated;
“Last year I felt like I was doing well and progressing but this season I really feel I have kicked on again, I want to get better. The manager and the coaching staff are throwing different stuff at us on a daily basis and if you looked at how the team played when he first came in compared to now, it might not be completely different but there are not too many similarities. The evolution of the squad has coincided with my own journey.”
Bolton return to action on Saturday, where they host struggling Exeter City at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.
Writer’s View
After falling short at the hands of Barnsley last season in the play-offs, Evatt and his troops will not want to repeat history. They will be targeting automatic promotion after making a fantastic start to this campaign.
It appears there’s confidence in the camp alongside a togetherness which will be crucial in securing success, as the players want to work as a collective group to ensure results.
