PHIL Parkinson has asked fans to rally behind his players at the Macron today to end a week from hell.

Walsall provide the opposition for a game which has hardly been given a moment’s thought in the last few days, as the row between Dean Holdsworth and Ken Anderson rumbled on.

Discord in the boardroom has snatched all the headlines in the build-up to the Saddlers’ visit but Parkinson is confident the worst is now over.

And speaking to The Bolton News, the manager has appealed to supporters to help his team finish a testing week on a high.

“We need the fans to pull together for us,” he said yesterday. “I think this has come to a crescendo now between the owners and I hope it can be a catalyst to move the club forward from what has become a messy situation.

“It can’t go on like this. Everyone knows we’ve been operating this season in very difficult circumstances. It has been going on for a while and as a management team we want it resolved.

“We want the talk to be about this great football club. I want the back pages to be about football. That is the way it should be.”

With Lawrie Wilson out for the season and Andy Taylor a doubt with a groin injury, Parkinson could name a new-look team – including a potential home debut for striker Adam Le Fondre.

Viv Solomon-Otabor, Filipe Morais and Chris Long could also make their first starts at the Macron.

And while there has been no shortage of disturbance this week as the Anderson-Holdsworth spat went into the public domain, the Whites boss remains upbeat that an injection of new players can inspire a first win of 2017.

“We have had a good week,” he said. “Getting to know the new lads has been good.

“Despite the off-the-pitch distraction the new players have brought a real energy to the place and I am looking forward to seeing a bit of freshness out there on the pitch.

“Two or three might be starting, or coming off the bench, so there will be an excitement about the game that I hope can give everyone a lift.”