JOSH Vela admits he was close to quitting Wanderers before Neil Lennon came in to kick-start his career.

In a rare interview, the promising midfielder revealed his frustration at being sidelined under Dougie Freedman in the first few months of the campaign and exiled from the first team training ground at Euxton.

Injuries had checked Vela’s early promise, which came to light at the bitter end of the Premier League era, but one of the brightest talents to have come through the academy system in decades insists he was just weeks away from leaving the club for good.

Speaking to The Bolton News, the 21-year-old told how a phone call from Lennon on his first day in charge changed his season completely.

“I’d train every day, think I’d been playing well in the reserves, and then I’d just find myself in the stands, not even the bench,” he said. “I just wanted to play football.

“I’m at that age now where I have to be playing. Instead it was three of us training at Lostock, all frustrated.

“I discussed it at home with my dad and with my agent. Maybe I needed to start at the bottom again and work my way to the top. It did get that bad.

“I felt I’d come back strong after a little tear in my knee but when I was in the reserves again, I just felt like I needed to go, on loan, wherever. I just needed to go.

“But when the new manager came in it was such a lift. He called me up, said everyone had a clean slate now and that everyone was training together. All of a sudden I felt like I could belong in the team again.

“Looking at how it’s panned out, I can hardly believe how well it has gone.”

Vela won The Bolton News’ player of the season award despite only playing his first game in October, and spending much of his time in an unfamiliar right-back slot.

The youngster had earned a reputation as an athletic midfielder but discovered late in a midweek game at the Macron that Lennon needed him to plug the notoriously problematic position.

“He pulled me to one side in a game against Cardiff on a Tuesday night and said I’d be playing. I assumed it was centre midfield but then he said ‘right back’ and I was like... what?

“He told me to calm down and said I was good enough to play there. It was fair enough.

“At the start I struggled a bit but eventually I got the hang of it. I’ve switched between the two positions okay now.”

Even though Vela had been persona non grata under Freedman, non-selection was not the only obstacle to his progress at Wanderers.

The young Salfordian had suffered from growing pains since entering the first team picture and also a serious knee injury, which required constant attention.

The lack of regular football did not help – fuelling Vela’s belief that a move away from the club could be for the best.

“It was difficult because I got a couple of games and then the knee would go. Then I got back into training and I’d be feeling rusty again,” he said.

“People don’t realise how long it takes for you to get back into your stride when you get a long-term injury.

“Me and Joe (Riley) are close mates and he had to go out to Oxford and then come back, signed for Bury. I looked at the route he’d took and wondered if I’d have to do the same if I didn’t get into the team.

“It seems to be going really well for him now. I’m really pleased because he’s a good player. He’s been really unlucky early on in his career.”

Vela finished the season with 32 appearances and goes into next season as one of a handful of home-grown talents now central to Lennon’s first team picture.

Such a policy has gone down well with the Wanderers fans who had grown critical of the lack of chances offered to youth under Freedman – and Vela believes there is more talent bubbling under the surface.

“This manager has shown he’s willing to put the young lads in,” he said. “There are about six of us that have played games, and I think there possibly might be more to come.

“I was eight when I got here and that last step – where you’re waiting to get a chance in the first team – is a big one. The biggest step is actually staying there.

“If I was to offer any advice to any of the younger players it would be that if you’re training with the first team you have to impress every single day. You have to express yourself.

“If you get a chance to get in the team you need to take it. Don’t have any regrets.

“I feel more confident now, I’m training better and I’m expressing myself.

“I definitely don’t feel like I’ve ‘made it’ now. I’ve still got work to do.”