DAVID Wheater hopes Wanderers have learned a lesson from last season’s Championship exertions.

For, while the big defender believes Phil Parkinson’s side thoroughly deserved to hang on to their status in the second tier, he admits they made life tougher than it needed to be.

A slow start, in which the Whites took just two points from 11 games, was mirrored by a dreadful dip in form after March’s international break.

Survival was the sole brief for Parkinson 12 months ago but Wheater – now heading into his ninth season at the club – feels confident Wanderers will not sail as close to the wind this time around.

“We can’t go through all that again, can we?” he said to The Bolton News. “We’ve made a habit of doing things the hard way. I still think we should have been promoted three or four weeks before we were in League One.

“We made things difficult with the start we made.

“I don’t know exactly what the problem was – maybe we just thought we’d keep winning after getting promoted – but it took a long time to turn that around.

“We have got a decent core of players who are experienced enough now. We deserved to stay up, no doubt about that. But we can’t afford to risk it like that again.”

Parkinson has added two more names to his squad this summer in Jason Lowe and Erhun Oztumer but with just 12 contracted players for next season – one of which is want-away goalkeeper Ben Amos – there is scope for great change at the Macron this summer.

“I’m sure the gaffer has got plans to bring more players in,” Wheater added. “Everyone wants to get business done early in time for pre-season.

“But me and the other lads have been given our fitness plans to stick to and we’ve got to make sure we’re in shape to hit the ground running too.”

n Wanderers could potentially be Leeds United’s new manager Marcelo Bielsa’s first opponents at Elland Road, after Phil Parkinson’s side were drawn away to their Championship rivals in yesterday’s Carabou Cup draw in Vietnam.

The first-round tie is to take place the week commencing August 13.