THIS season might go down as a case of “what might have been” for Neil Lennon but the Wanderers boss is far from disconsolate as he looks towards the future.

Looking back now, talk of a play-off chase at the start of the year looks fanciful – but the Northern Irishman was dead serious when he claimed the Whites could chase the front runners up until a catastrophic run of injuries which saw a lot of his early good work undone.

That instant impact from October onwards saw the club climb as high as 13th after which they slipped six places and very briefly looked like being sucked into a relegation battle once again.

But Monday’s win against Cardiff provided a reminder of how strong Wanderers had looked with a fully-fit squad in the early part of the year.

And with Darren Pratley and Mark Davies due to join in tomorrow’s squad against Norwich, Lennon now wants to send out a message to the rest of the Championship that his side are going to be contenders next time around.

“Things have been a bit up and down this season but that’s understandable in a way,” he told The Bolton News. “I know I talk about it a lot but when you factor in the loss of Mark Davies, Darren Pratley, Max Clayton, David Wheater – then you have Mark Davies and Adam Bogdan just coming back, selling Chung-Yong Lee in January, that is a huge loss to any team at this level.

“What we need to do now is build again for next season, avoid a slow start, and hopefully it will be better.”

Three may well be the magic number away from home for Lennon next season, with the 3-4-1-2 formation used against Cardiff providing a little hint as to how his side will look in the future.

“I like the three at the back; a lot of people raise their eyebrows at times when we play it,” he said.

“But what it does is allows me to play two centre forwards – a Heskey and Craig Davies, plus Eidur Gudjohnsen playing off those two.

“So while you might look at it and say it’s a defensive set-up, we’ve still got those three attack-minded players.

“Davies and Heskey play really well together too, and Eidur, well he’s just a genius.”

Lennon may well re-shape his side at home to Norwich, opening the door for Adam Le Fondre and Rochinha to return, while the addition of Pratley and Mark Davies gives him more selection options than at any stage since he arrived at the club.

Nevertheless, the Whites boss is not underestimating a side that have been in excellent form and who look a good bet for a quick return to the Premier League.

“It’s a difficult task because I still think Norwich have the strongest squad in the division,” he said. “They have been there or thereabouts all season.

“Alex Neil has come in and settled them down and they have been very, very consistent. Obviously they are going for automatic promotion but we'll be doing our best to make sure they don't go home with anything."