LIAM Feeney wants people to continue writing off Wanderers’ chances in the Championship this season.

Unfancied by the bookmakers, who once had them pegged as relegation favourites, and battling against a restrictive budget, Feeney reckons the Whites could thrive under a siege mentality.

Speaking after scoring a stunning volley in Tuesday night’s 2-0 win over Oldham, the pacy winger is happy to ignore the doom-mongers with the new campaign just over a fortnight away.

“Sometimes adversity can be good for you,” he told The Bolton News. “Maybe if people are writing us off it gives us a bit more reason to do better.

“When you do succeed it will be all the sweeter. That’s what we’re working towards – people can say what they want about us, but we’ll do our talking on the pitch.”

Talk of takeovers and budgets has dominated the summer at Wanderers, creating a mood of uncertainty among supporters.

The vibe has been picked up by the players but Feeney believes the squad is tough enough to ignore matters off the field.

“It’s not something that affects us,” he said. “You can’t help but see things in the press but it’s out of our control. It isn’t something we can affect, so we can only come in, work hard every day, and there’s still some tough competition for places in this team.

"We have experience and quality in there and if the gaffer can add to it then it makes it better for us.

“We focus on what we can control – trying to do the best for the club.”

Feeney described pre-season as the “toughest of his career” and reckons Wanderers will be physically more prepared for the Championship than they were 12 months ago.

Nevertheless he was glad to end a three-match losing streak with victory at Boundary Park in midweek, settling a few nerves in the process.

“We try not to let it build,” he said. “The early fixtures are for fitness, just to blow off the cobwebs, but it’s nice to get a win because it breeds confidence. It was certainly a better performance than Friday.

“I thought we looked like a good team at Oldham.

“It’s coming together nicely now, so now we’ve got to go again Friday and keep building towards the Derby game.”