Stevie Wonder once sang ‘He’s a man, with a plan’ in his 1970s hit He’s Misstra Know-it-all and it would appear Bolton Wanderers manager Dougie Freedman is a fan.
After a resounding 5-1 win at Leeds on the weekend the ice-cool Scot has resisted the temptation to celebrate and rejoice their third win on the bounce, a spell which follows their run of eight matches without a victory.
Instead, Freedman has outlined his vision for the future which, on current form, could involve a few more loan signings.
“I’m a young manager with a plan and that plan sometimes takes time,” the 39-year-old told a press conference on Monday.
“We’ve got a few players at the table right now who are bringing goals, bringing that youthful enthusiasm which I’ve always spoken about and that’s my plan.
“Our win ratio with our loan players goes up to 50-60% and goes all the way down to 15% without them.”
On-loan Joe Mason scored his third goal in the last three games against Leeds while fellow loanee Lukas Jutkiewicz was also on target, netting his fourth in the last six.
“We don’t start going around here doing cartwheels – we had a game plan and the game plan worked on Saturday,” Freedman said.
“I believe now we’ve got a team that can cope with most things,” added the Scot, with Bolton still looking over their shoulder given they are not yet mathematically safe from relegation
“It’s been a difficult season for us, lots of ups and downs even off the pitch but I think we’ve come through that and we’ve stuck together.
“The fans have been very patient – in the main they’ve understood exactly what we’re trying to do.”
Bolton travel to Derby County on Tuesday to play Steve McClaren’s men, who sit third in the SkyBet Championship but have lost their last two games.
“Although they’re having a difficult moment right now they’re very capable,” Freedman said.
“They’re a free flowing team so we’ve got to make sure we’re organised and structured.”
Image courtesy of Official BWFC via YouTube, with thanks.
