AFTER being dragged for miles around the roads by my sons catching imaginary monsters with my phone, I thank Pikachu that finding stories is that much easier on the feet.

Try as I may, I cannot quite understand what all the fuss is about with Pokemon, it must be an age thing.

Thankfully, I have the day job to worry about, and the fact that after months of reporting on matters which brings us writers out in a cold sweat, we are finally starting to turn our attention towards football again at Bolton Wanderers.

This week I have reported on five trialists, one signing and a host of clubs who are sniffing around one of the club’s top prospects, Rob Holding. It’s almost like being back in the job I signed up for!

Slowly but surely we are seeing Phil Parkinson’s plan emerge, and that will continue through pre-season, building towards that all-important kick-off against Sheffield United.

Working with the club is very different now than it was six months ago, when the uncertainty around the place made it a nervous and sometimes paranoid environment. People feared for their jobs, worried about what change new ownership would bring and it was not conducive to a winning environment.

Things feel more stable, more structured, and on the face of things we have almost returned to normality.

I think that explains the apathy towards standing for the Supporters’ Trust board. The whole concept did not meet with unanimous approval – and to each, their own – but since the takeover was completed the general consensus has been to let Ken Anderson and Dean Holdsworth go about their business.

For just five people to step forward is disappointing, in my view. So many opinions have been voiced on how the Trust should run, why they should look to have a say at board level, but when push came to shove very few were willing to poke their head above the parapet.

Going back to the start of the year when fans turned up in their droves to make impassioned speeches at the open meetings, I wonder where those people have gone? Has the whole concept of a supporters’ trust really lost its relevance in six short months?

There has been a great deal of anger directed at Ian Bridge and Mike Smith, who told this newspaper they would not be standing as board members after getting the steering group off the ground. They are grown men and have agreed to give their own answer in a Q&A we will print next week – but personally I do think some of the bile being spewed on social media is a bit extreme.

The Trust hasn’t gone in the direction some predicted. In some people’s eyes it might even have failed in their objective so far. But the fact it exists at all gives me some comfort, and I hope that view is shared by some Wanderers fans.

After what the club went through at the end of last year Bolton supporters are wary, less trusting. Financial details which were spewed out in the High Court laid bare, and crucially on the record, what had been suspected for many years – it was a right old mess.

The sense of urgency led to the Trust being rushed to the point it is today. Were the same catastrophic circumstances to occur again – and I sincerely hope they don’t – then the structure is in place for them to react quickly and decisively.

I am pleased to say that after years of information being blocked by the hierarchy at Wanderers the club is now communicating again. It isn’t perfect, yet, but we are making progress.

Anderson and Holdsworth have questions to answer about what transfer restrictions – if any – remain in place from the Football League. I understand there are commercial sensitivities involved, so this isn’t a time for ultimatums, more a case of acknowledging it is still a matter to be resolved.

In the short term, many people will breathe a little easier when the club’s accounts are filed at Companies House. I have received some assurances the matter is in hand but like everyone else, I’ll rest easier when I see the numbers in black and white on my desk.

Lastly, we need to see that Wanderers can stabilise after relegation, something they failed to do in the Championship a few years ago. Personally, I have every faith in Parkinson and his staff to achieve that, but he needs his players to step up too.

When the season begins a whole new sphere of discussion begins: players’ form, selection issues, formations, tactics, press conferences and interviews; that is my bread and butter.

Rather like this Pokemon craze which is sweeping the nation the finances, court appearances, takeover talk and boardroom issues did not come naturally to me – and I pray it doesn’t dominate the agenda again.

It won’t stop me having a go once in a while, though. You’ve got to catch them all, you know?