WHO would genuinely have thought a year in which Wanderers fans endured such frustration and shown such anger would finish looking towards the future with unbridled optimism?

In the last 12 months we witnessed an embarrassing 7-1 defeat at Reading, the deterioration of Dougie Freedman’s hold on his job, fan protests and no shortage of unhappiness around this grand old club.

And then there was Neil Lennon.

Considered a massive coup within the game when he was unveiled as Freedman’s successor, the former Celtic boss wasted no time at all in picking Wanderers up off its haunches.

There has been no raft of new signings nor a distinct tactical deviance from the previous reign. Lennon has not been prone to chest-thumping public speeches or rallying calls, although his straight-talking style has definitely gained favour on the terraces.

The Northern Irishman has just been winning for such a long time up in Scotland, he brought the philosophy with him, and along with trusted Parkhead staff Johan Mjallby and Garry Parker his impact on a squad of underachieving players has been nothing short of miraculous.

Players whose career at the Macron looked like extending no further than the end of this season – Darren Pratley, Andy Lonergan, Josh Vela, Craig Davies – are now suddenly the men driving the team.

We had entered into 2014 still shaking our head in disbelief at record £50.7million losses. Coupled with the team’s poor form, it was hard to find anything positive to say about Wanderers.

That a year later the club has avoided a transfer embargo by making the most severe financial cuts is some feat in itself.

Freedman became somewhat of a martyr to the ever-worrying cash situation. His frustration at not being able to sign players permanently, missing out on the likes of Lukas Jutkiewicz and Craig Dawson, manifested itself in a slightly negative approach which was picked up by the fans.

Many found it tough to look past the mistakes they felt he was making with man management and tactical selection but history will show the job he did rebuilding the club on a realistic budget was an important one.

In the end that lack of empathy with supporters – and in some cases, players - was always going to catch up with him.

It did in grand style, just a month into the new season after Wanderers started a season dreadfully for the second time in succession.

But the gradual weakening of his bond with the fans can be traced back to the start of the year.

From January 1 to February 21, Wanderers won just once in the FA Cup against Blackpool.

Among them were narrow losses to some good sides – Ipswich, QPR, Burnley, but it was a 7-1 reverse at the Madejski Stadium that proved the real low of Freedman’s tenure.

His side outclassed by a rampant Reading, the normally cool and casual Scot spat bile in his post-match assessment, famously claiming his players were “not good enough” for the Championship.

Realistically, his comments were aimed at a select few. But the sentiment was picked up readily by his critics, who multiplied from there on in.

Things did improve in the final third of the campaign. A fine 5-1 win over Leeds in March was a highlight, as was a 4-1 derby triumph against Blackburn Rovers and a 3-1 victory at Sheffield Wednesday on the penultimate weekend which was driven by local talents like Andy Kellett and Oscar Threlkeld.

And while Freedman’s detractors had not disappeared, there was a general sense the worst was over as the Scot rebuilt his side over the summer, largely from players he had signed on loan previously.

Neil Danns, Liam Feeney, Liam Trotter, Joe Mason and Kevin McNaughton all reappeared but Jutkiewicz – the undoubted find of the previous season – signed for Premier League Burnley, much to the manager’s disappointment.

The truce between manager and fans was uneasy at best, and a poor start was never going to be tolerated. So when the Whites had just cup wins against Bury and Crewe to show by mid-September, the knives were out again.

Joe Mason ended a 12-year wait for a hat-trick when he put Rotherham United to the sword to register a first league win but the joy was short-lived.

Wolves, Derby and then finally Fulham inflicted defeats Freedman simply could not recover from.

And so in his final act on a gloomy touchline at Craven Cottage he was asked after another demoralising 4-0 loss if the players were good enough to avoid relegation; his response “it doesn’t look that way, does it?”

The anger among fans had by no means been confined to Freedman.

Chairman Phil Gartside had also come under heavy fire with many fans still calling for him to resign after Freedman had departed by mutual consent.

In an interview with The Bolton News, Gartside dug in his heels, put the record straight on a number of matters and attempted to clear the air.

His next act was to recruit a manager – and few would argue in that duty, he played a blinder.

Lennon had not been one of the early favourites for the job and had been on the verge of taking a job in the Middle East before Wanderers contacted him.

Chris Hughton and Malky Mackay had both spoken with Gartside but the gears moved quickly once Lennon shelved plans to fly to Saudi Arabia and just four days later he had been confirmed as Freedman’s successor.

His first act was to take three points at Birmingham City, albeit that he had to watch the end of the game from the press box after being sent to the stands for persistently leaving his technical area.

Yes, life under Lennon was going to be interesting.

There have been a couple of setbacks – defeats at Norwich and Charlton showed there were deficiencies in the squad which need addressing in the January window – but the team’s resilience since the Northern Irishman’s arrival makes them almost unrecognisable.

All of a sudden, the country was looking at Wanderers again.

The return of Eidur Gudjohnsen on a free transfer at the age of 36, 14 years since he last pulled on a Bolton shirt, was celebrated across the town.

It was followed by Emile Heskey – another veteran striker with a pedigree CV but while fans needed some convincing that his short-term deal was a sensible move, a goal on debut to help beat Blackburn Rovers helped make a believer out of a few undecided minds.

As we enter into the New Year the play-offs are within nine points and thoughts of relegation have all but vanished.

Financial constraints remain and Lennon may only now be fully coming to terms with some of the problems faced by his predecessor.

Several key contracts are running down, and it appears some players must be sold before any purchases can be made.

For Wanderers to be involved in the play-off hunt in May would be a tall order – in fact, for the club to keep hold of Lennon himself amidst admiring eyes from the Premier League would be an achievement in itself.

One thing is for sure; 2015 won’t be dull.