PHIL Parkinson will not close the door on Wanderers’ so-called “big hitters” if they can prove to him they want to stay at the Macron.

Even though the large wage bill carried by the Whites into League One will put restrictions on how many signings the new manager can make, he is not ruling out keeping them at the club.

The likes of Darren Pratley, Liam Trotter, Mark Davies, Ben Amos and Jay Spearing are contracted for next season and, in some cases beyond, on salaries which will almost certainly be unsustainable at third tier level.

But Parkinson is keen to offer everyone a fresh start and will be making no pre-judgements on whether to try to move players on until he has had a chance to assess whether their character fits with his own ideas about the game.

“There are players of quality here who are earning good money,” he told The Bolton News. “If they have the same desire as I have to win games then obviously I’d like to keep them around.

“Players who have played at a higher level normally have more technical ability but it’s not always about that – you have to have desire to run from the first minute to the last.”

Parkinson makes no secret of the fact he wants to bring in new faces as quickly as possible, however, and could turn to some of the transfer targets he made at Bradford for inspiration.

“As soon as the news came out that I would be managing Bolton my phone lit up,” he said. “That included some of the players who I’d looked at regarding Bradford.

“I have my ideas of the players I want in and the characters I need. And I want to move as quickly as I can to get them in.

“I am confident I can attract the players to be competitive.”

Parkinson wants a squad size of 22-23 players, supplemented by home-grown youngsters. Currently, 20 professional players are on Wanderers’ books, though several, including the likes of Tyler Garratt, Alex Finney and Will Jaaskelainen, have limited first-team experience.

Wanderers will learn on Wednesday when the fixtures are released how their first season in League One since 1993 will pan out. Along with 46 league games they face at least three extra games in the revamped Football League Trophy and also start the FA Cup in the first round.