PARKY OILS HIS MEAN MACHINE
Relentless drive for perfection paying off
DAVID Wheater realised Phil Parkinson meant business shortly after last month’s 3-1 victory over Port Vale.
“It was our fifth win in a row and all the players were thinking ‘hey, we might get a couple of days off or something here’,” recalls the Bolton centre-back.
“But there wasn’t even a hint of it. We were straight back on the training ground. That’s the gaffer though. He’s constant.
“We kept five straight clean sheets recently, but there was no less emphasis on defence. We were still doing the same drills, training like we’d lost the last match 4-0. He’s been tremendous for us.”
If the Dean Holdsworth-led takeover that rescued Bolton from financial oblivion provided the foundation for the Trotters’ rebirth in League One, Parkinson’s arrival from Bradford bricked up the gaps.
Enjoyable
A back-to-basics approach, founded on aggression and solidity, has turned a relegated rabble of losers into the division’s meanest outfit.
Victory over Peterborough today would mark a sixth successive league win for the first time since the 2000-01 season under Sam Allardyce.
“The problem we’ve had in the last few years was there were always rumours about the manager and players leaving,” adds Wheater, who joined the Trotters from Middlesbrough in 2011. “Now, everything is much more stable, the atmosphere is great.
“I always remember when we got relegated with Middlesbrough after a couple of pretty bad seasons in the Premier League.
“Gareth Southgate said ‘collectively, this is an awful day, but, individually, next season will be the most enjoyable of your career because you’ll be winning games’. It was true then and it’s true now. You can see it in training.
“You can see it when you walk around the town. All the fans have got smiles on their faces. They all want to stop and chat.
“Everything is so much better when you’re winning games. I just wish we’d managed to do it a bit more before.”
Wheater grabbed his first goal of the season in last month’s 2-0 victory over Millwall, removing his shirt to reveal a tribute to stricken former Bolton striker Ivan Klasnic.
The Croatian suffered kidney failure in 2007 and, after a kidney donated by his mother was rejected, he received another from his father and was able to continue playing.
However, that kidney has now failed and the 36-year-old – reported as being critically ill in September – must now wait two years for a replacement.
“When I heard the news, I wanted to send a message,” explains Wheater, who played alongside Klasnic for three years. “Unfortunately, it took me a while to score, but I did finally get there!
Message
“Afterwards I decided to get it signed, auction it off and give the money to Kidney Research. We raised more than £1,025 this week, so it was brilliant.
“Klas actually left a message for the Bolton fans on YouTube, just to thank everyone for their thoughts and donations.
“He’s obviously ill but he didn’t look too bad to be honest. Hopefully, he’s out of real danger for now.”
Like Bolton, Peterborough have recovered from a September slump and Tuesday’s EFL Trophy victory over Barnet marked a fifth win in seven games.
It also saw the return of striker Lee Angol.
The 22-year-old netted 11 goals after joining from Non-League Boreham Wood last season, only to break an ankle in Peterborough’s first pre-season friendly.
“Lee’s a big player for us and he’ll definitely be in contention on Sunday,” said manager Grant McCann.
“He’s aggressive, he’s strong, he’s quick. He gives us something different and I was delighted to get 90 minutes in his legs.”