LEWIS Buxton has been playing catch-up since he stepped through the door at Wanderers – but doesn’t mind one bit.

A somewhat surprise arrival on the eve of the new season, the former Sheffield Wednesday defender was thrust immediately into action and hasn’t surfaced for air since.

Phil Parkinson praised the 32-year-old’s grit to come through the last two wins against Bristol Rovers and Fleetwood Town and by the manager’s own admission, Buxton is only now starting to feel his way back to full fitness.

“It was definitely a bit of a shock to the system getting my debut just a couple of days after coming in,” the defender said. “I didn’t really know what to expect in regards to whether I would play or not but I was happy to play the 90 minutes.

“I’d only had two training sessions with the lads prior to that game but hopefully I didn’t look too out of place. Towards the end I was definitely getting tired. It’s always going to be a case of playing catch-up. But I was just happy to be part of it.”

Though his first few weeks at the Macron have been physically tough, Wanderers have in their midst a player with vast experience in the top three divisions.

He helped Stoke City emerge as a Premier League force before spending seven seasons at Hillsborough, six of which were in the Championship.

Buxton’s diverse CV and versatility across the back line tempted Parkinson to shelve plans to sign Frazier Richardson or Neal Eardley in pre-season and drop the Isle of Wight-born defender straight in for a debut on the opening day of the season.

But the man whose singular aim last season was to help Rotherham survive the drop has now turned his attention towards restoring Bolton’s place in the second tier.

“I definitely arrive here with a positive mentality after helping Rotherham stay up last year,” he said. “I come here wanting the club to get promoted and that’s no different to anyone else in the team. Hopefully we can kick on and fulfil our potential. It’s clear there is a brilliant infrastructure in place here – it wasn’t that long ago they were a Premier League club and you can still see that across the board.

“Everything is in place, the stadium is class and the facilities are there. It’s all about momentum in this league and if we can find that this season we can start bringing the good times back.”

Buxton played alongside Gary Madine in a successful promotion at Wednesday in 2012 and remained in South Yorkshire when ex-Whites midfielder Neil Redfearn gave him the call last summer.

The move across the Pennines has meant a change of base for family man Buxton, however, and like fellow defender Mark Beevers – who stays in Chris Taylor’s spare room the night before a home game – has had to seek some temporary accommodation, for the time being.

“I’m staying at the mother-in-law’s right now – she lives on the other side of Manchester and it’s only about half an hour’s drive, which is ideal for now,” he said. “I’m looking for a permanent place for me and the family as they are still living back in Sheffield.

“I’ve got a 12-month contract but it’s always better when your family are nearby and who knows what the future could hold?

“In football, you have to be prepared to move where the work is.

“My kids are still quite young too – they are not in school yet so there’s no uprooting them. They enjoyed coming to the game with my other half, she’s got them wearing Wanderers shirts already!”

Parkinson explained his reasons for picking Buxton in the summer.

“When it came down to it, Lewis became available and he could fit in at centre-half, so we thought his ability to play a couple of positions could be quite important,” he told The Bolton News.