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Compared with previous summers of financial despair and boardroom upheaval at Bolton Wanderers, the one just gone has seemed a walk in the park.
Unbeaten on the pitch, eight transfer deals done early, 10,000 season tickets sold – the Whites have ridden a positive promotion wave on their return to League One looking an infinitely more stable prospect than they have in recent years.
Behind the scenes, though, stress levels have been high. A breakout of Covid infections on the training ground left many players out of action and struggling to get back to full fitness in time to face MK Dons.
Mercifully, the worst is over. And while club captain Antoni Sarcevic ranks this summer as one of the most traumatic he has faced in football, he finds some comfort in the fact Bolton go into the new campaign in good form, and high spirits.
“Compared to last season it’s chalk and cheese,” he told The Bolton News. “I honestly think it’s one of the most disrupted pre-seasons I have had as a footballer and it has definitely been difficult for the manager and the rest of the players.
“The coronavirus impacts us in ways that people on the outside of the club won’t really know and it’s stressful for everyone because it can be a simple thing like sitting down next to someone.
“It has been tough but I think we’re a bit lucky that everyone seems to have got through it and got the virus before the first game so hopefully we can start the season with a strong squad.
“Everyone is getting up to where they should be and we’ll definitely be ready for Saturday.”
In his 12 months as club captain Sarcevic has become a barometer of Wanderers’ situation, never shying away from voicing his displeasure if a stern word were needed.
So, when the midfielder says, with hand on heart, that Ian Evatt’s squad is better prepared to do what is expected of them than they were last summer, you would tend to believe him.
“I have to be careful with what I say but I have tried to be honest about things and put my views across – but, honestly, I can’t speak highly enough of how it is being done now and pre-season shows that,” he said.
“Every performance we have proved we are going to be a right handful this year.
“The players and the fans realise we are a long way from where we were last season and I think there’s a confidence now because of what we achieved. We didn’t have that last year either.
“All the lads have been back on the training pitch for a few days now and we honestly cannot wait to play.”
Midfield competition has been intensified with the arrival of Wales international Josh Sheehan, adding to Sarcevic, MJ Williams, George Thomason, Kieran Lee and Co, on whom last season’s promotion owed so much.
With a bigger squad from which to pick, Evatt will again face a challenge keeping all of his squad happy but with a back-up side playing in the Central League, Sarcevic believes inter-squad rivalry will be fierce.
“I’m speaking selfishly, but I think midfield is the strongest area,” he said. “We complement each other well. We talk on the pitch, we communicate well and we are all confident with each other’s abilities.
“The ones who aren’t in that starting three, need to be ready because if something happens to one of us, they need make sure they are ready to step in our shoes.
“With going into League One, it’s completely different to League Two. We do need a good squad in depth. It will be an intense league with the teams in and we’ve got to make sure we have the lads who aren’t involved to be ready to be involved.”
A season Sarcevic regards as the biggest in his professional career will begin at the University of Bolton Stadium tomorrow against MK Dons, a side still reeling from the shock departure of manager, Russell Martin, last weekend.
The Scot left for Swansea City after a 5-0 defeat at Bournemouth and MK legend Dean Lewington has been placed in temporary charge.
“I don’t think it will impact us,” the captain said. “It will impact them more.
“We have obviously got an idea of how they play and what they do. That might all change on Saturday, but it is all about us, as simple as that.
“The manager has made that crystal clear. It is about what we do, and if we do what we are supposed to then I am more than confident we’ll get three points.”
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