WILL Forrester believes Steven Schumacher’s “new ideas” can help push Wanderers from also-rans to promotion contenders.
The defender – arguably in the best run of his Bolton career – says the Bolton squad has responded positively to a change at the top, with the ex-Plymouth and Stoke head coach already making waves on the training ground after his arrival last week.
The Whites take on Crawley in what will be Schumacher’s first home game this weekend, and Forrester reckons he can supply a spark to ignite the campaign.
“Ian Evatt was here for four-and-a-half years, which is a long, long time in football,” he told The Bolton News. “And it’s not that the players needed new ideas but I think it’s obvious with the way we have performed this season, it has been well under par. So bringing someone in with new ideas, new systems, maybe, hopefully it can give us all the kick up the a*** that he needed.
“The new manager has come in and everyone is now trying to impress him. The training standard has gone through the roof. It has been really intense all week and hopefully that means we can kick on and get our season back on track.”
Forrester found himself regularly out of the equation under previous manager Evatt. And though some of his absences were injury-based, he also struggled to hold down a regular spot when he was available for selection.
Picked for Evatt’s final game against Charlton, Forrester kept his place under the interim management of Julian Darby and then in Schumacher’s first game at Reading last weekend, responding with some of his best performances since signing from Port Vale a couple of summers ago.
He is now relishing the prospect of a fresh start and is determined to keep in the new boss’s plans.
“The manager came in and the first thing he said is: ‘It's a clean slate with everybody.’ And I think that is a good thing. If you're performing well in training or in games, you're giving him a real headache to pick you on a Saturday.
“I’m 23 now, I’m not a kid anymore. I want to be playing regular football. And hopefully things have changed, I don’t know, obviously the new manager has only been here a week.
“I did get a little bit frustrated but I am not blaming the old manager for that. He has worked with the players a lot longer than he has with me.
“I think it's down to me ultimately to keep performing at a high standard, so I can't give him a choice to drop me, basically.
“I think this run that I've had in the team now is really benefiting me and I feel like I'm growing as a player and as a person and hopefully I can continue it and keep my place in the team, hopefully.”
