DEAN Holdsworth believes Wanderers have been right to hold fire on appointing a new manager.

Fans have waited 62 days so far for news of a permanent successor to Neil Lennon but despite growing concern on the terraces, the co-owner insists the club has been right not to rush into an appointment.

A top-to-tail review has been undertaken in the last couple of months, which resulted in 21 players being released last week and a number of staffing redundancies.

And though Holdsworth has not arrived at those decisions lightly, he says the framework being put into place will give the new manager a better chance of success.

“I understand people want to see a manager appointed and I agree it’s very important we sort it,” he told The Bolton News. “But it can’t just be set in stone. We need to find that perfect person who’ll fit into the remit of what we have got.

“I have put together a structure the manager will fit into, just as I have the players. Now, we (Holdsworth and co-owner Ken Anderson) need to set down exactly what we want. There will be more conversations on that this week.

“It can’t be about the financials any more. It must be about whether they fit for this football club. It’s such a vital decision.

“We’ve made the decision to hang on a bit and make sure we pick the right person.”

Holdsworth was forced to make some drastic decisions last week to bring the club’s wage structure more into line with where he wants it to be.

Staff cuts were done with finances in mind. He insisted, however, that the release of players was not merely down to numbers and was also guided by options left behind in the squad.

“There are some very tough decisions and it hasn’t been nice for me,” he said. “I have not enjoyed it at all.

“I have been used to having those conversations with players but not with staff, this is a new experience for me.

“They are people I have known a long time but it needed to be done. We are a business, it was thought about, planned, and decisions were made on a financial basis.

“The decisions on players were based on what we have left rather than what we can take on. I suppose that position might change in the next three or four weeks – or I think it would – but we can’t rub a crystal ball and guess what is going to happen.

“Anyone who came in would have had to do this. Anybody.”