IF this was a litmus test as to how Wanderers will cope against the supposed lesser lights they will face this season, the signs are not great.

How much you read into pre-season results is debatable, in fact there are some in the game who discount them altogether.

Phil Parkinson clearly is not in that school of thinking. He has been the epitome of positivity since walking through the doors at the Macron but as he stood on the edge of the pitch after the final whistle, ruminating over the poor start his side had made against the League Two Stags, he allowed himself a moment to complain.

Two down after 15 minutes, the Whites reverted temporarily to the team who had collapsed so desperately in the Championship just a few months ago.

Thankfully, there was a response. Wanderers failed to build sufficiently on Zach Clough’s second-half goal but the performance after the break at least stopped this feeling like a complete disaster.

They say you learn more in defeat than victory but Parkinson has watched enough of last season’s inglorious footage to know what he was getting himself into. He is also sensible enough to realise there won’t necessarily be a quick fix.

At Bradford, Parkinson built a defence which kept more clean sheets than anyone else in the Football League, managing 27 in all competitions. Penny for his thoughts when Bury cast-off Danny Rose and Krystian Pearce scored the most simple of goals to give the home side a 2-0 lead they barely earned.

From there Mansfield were able to sit deep. They defended well and also posed a threat on the break with Matt Green a particular thorn in Wanderers’ side.

The Whites had better get used to teams adopting that approach. Their frustrating tendency to pass sideways and backwards in midfield ad-infinitum meant they did not ask enough questions of the Stags defence and only once got in behind them.

Mark Davies had the chance, slipping past a couple of challenges on the edge of the box before blasting his shot straight at Scott Shearer.

Having looked so sharp at Helsingor in Denmark and returned to a normal week’s training at Lostock there is little explanation for why Wanderers looked so sluggish in the first 45 minutes.

And the frustration started to pour out – with Davies lucky to find ref Gary Sutton in a good mood when he appeared to push the Lincolnshire official following a minor clash with a Mansfield player.

Thus began the first real half-time rollicking Parkinson has had to give at Wanderers. And, in fairness, it worked.

There was a better shape about the team after the break with Max Clayton on as a substitute. And before long he had slipped a clever pass through for Zach Clough to turn and place into the bottom corner.

Some real urgency produced instant results.

For a short while Wanderers tried to force the issue. But for all their huffing and puffing, a straightforward shot from Clayton was all they really mustered.

Amid a raft of replacements, Tom Walker and Kaiyne Woolery offered something different down the right side and both produced crosses which were begging to be finished.

Gary Madine replaced Jamie Proctor on the hour and neither were really able to build on their encouraging start in Scandinavia.

The substitutions had their usual slowing effect on the game and what few chances were created in the final quarter fell to the home side.

Mark Howard came on at half time for his first taste of action for Bolton and made a smart save from Adam Chapman. His communication with the back four needs some work but that should be resolved in time.

Then there is the matter of David Wheater. Back in the fold just a couple of weeks after bidding goodbye, the centre-half is a reliable type who seems right up Parkinson’s street.

The Wanderers boss has certainly not ruled out the chances of keeping Wheater full time. But can the board – who pointed to the 29-year-old’s prior fitness record and salary as a reason for releasing him – agree a deal which is mutually beneficial?

We also saw the late introduction of Alex Honeyball and Callum Spooner – the latter cheered on from the stands by his dad, Nicky – as the latest two academy products to make their mark at senior level.

One pre-season defeat won’t overly concern Parkinson and his staff nor will it significantly dampen the enthusiasm among supporters since he entered the building. But a few of the nagging problems which cropped up at the One Call Stadium are all-too-familiar. Thankfully at this time of the year there is plenty of time to make amends.

Wanderers: Amos (Howard); Wilson (Spooner), Dervite (Finney), Beevers (Wheater), Moxey (Honeyball); Davies (Walker), Vela (Spearing), Trotter (Pratley), Taylor (Clayton); Clough (Woolery), Proctor (Madine).