BACK to normality, or at least a version of it; Wanderers showed in part why the despondency of the last week might be a bit premature.

There was a strong message coming from the away dressing room at The Shay after a week-long pay dispute and it spelled out a willingness to move on.

Not a single member of the group, coaching staff included, want the uncertainty of the last week to continue or overspill into the Championship campaign. Too many words have been wasted on what is a cut and dry topic. Wanderers must resolve their inner squabbles with no delay.

Ken Anderson has already taken the first positive step by agreeing to meeting with the PFA and players’ representatives and if some common ground can be found then there were signs at Halifax as to why this Bolton team can go into the next few weeks with a bit of optimism.

Phil Parkinson’s first-half side was comprised of last season’s core, the same players who downed tools at St Mirren last weekend to prove their point over unpaid bonuses – but also the same who have trained with utmost professionalism ever since.

You could forgive this performance if it had been subdued, or lacking sharpness, but for much of the first 60 minutes it showed promise.

Sammy Ameobi teased and tormented the Vanarama National League side at will, spraying some great passes out to the opposite flank and rediscovering that goal hunger which had ebbed away at the end of last season. He began and finished Wanderers’ second of the afternoon, capping off a swaggering display, his first since signing a two-year deal with the club.

Adam Le Fondre nibbled away, as we have come to expect, and finished calmly for Wanderers’ first 19 minutes in. Parkinson knows he can count on his predatory instincts, whatever happens between now and August 4.

But there was fresh energy in Will Buckley’s performance too. The winger played with the weight of the world on his shoulders at times last term but in a wide left berth found space time and time again, combining well with Andy Taylor to produce a steady supply of crosses.

Defensively Wanderers looked organised in the first hour, David Wheater and Jason Lowe standing out. The core of players who were most affected by the pay dispute rolled up their sleeves, and got the job done.

Had things gone wrong at Halifax there would have been a great deal of scrutiny focussed on what had caused the dip in performance. This was a professional job, and no mistake.

But the last half an hour showed why, in the next three weeks, Wanderers have so much more work to get through.

A raft of 11 substitutions was bound to have a destabilising effect but the efforts of substitute and trialist Jack Hobbs, the former Nottingham Forest and Leicester centre-back were worth noting.

Likewise young Luca Connnell, who filled-in as a makeshift left-back, and produced some moments of real defensive promise.

There are a good handful of players bubbling under the first team at Wanderers who desperately need some exposure to first team football, even if that isn’t at the Macron Stadium. For all the talk of incoming players, it is vitally important we do not forget some of them also need a foot on the ladder.

Erhun Oztumer shook off a hip problem to play the last half hour and didn’t have things all his own way. A few passes went astray but we did see a few glimpses of the scurrying running style which won Walsall fans over completely.

Mekhi McLeod’s cut in from the left to take advantage of some dithering defending to drill a fine shot into the bottom corner past Jake Turner. And Halifax produced a couple of chances to take something from the game late on.

But as these early pre-season games go there was plenty to be pleased with for Parkinson, who can only hope the next week runs as smoothly.

The Wanderers boss needs seven new signings, yet with his players and superiors at odds over bonuses, a pretty picture is not being painted for anyone looking in.

Wanderers first half: Alnwick; Little, Wheater, Beevers, Taylor; Ameobi, Lowe, Vela, Buckley, Le Fondre, Donaldson.

Last 30 mins: Turner, Pritchard, Edwards, Hobbs, Darby, Noone, Earing, Politic, Johnson (Connell), Oztumer, Hall