THE pressure is on at the top of the league – and David Lee wouldn’t have it any other way.

Wanderers are edging towards their first league title in 11 years at reserve level, currently boasting a seven-point lead over Sheffield Wednesday at the summit of the northern section.

The remit for Lee and his assistant Tony Kelly has always been to help young players manage the gap between youth and senior football, a transition made successfully by the likes of Josh Vela, Zach Clough, Rob Holding and Oscar Threlkeld in recent years.

But with an added touch of spice associated with the chase for silverware, Lee feels his young players are learning some valuable lessons.

“We have got that winning mentality at the moment and for players at the age of 19 or 20, it’s great to develop the skill of managing games and seeing out results,” he told The Bolton News.

“The aim is to try and get that into them at this age, so that when they get into the first team it becomes natural.

“For the first part of the season it was about progression and development but now we find ourselves at the top of the league. Results become important.

“Yes, we still want them to develop but the added bonus for us is that they are playing under a bit of their own pressure because they want to stay top of the league.”

Monday’s 3-0 win at Cardiff City was especially pleasing for Lee.

Connor Hall opened the scoring with his 18th goal of the season before late goals from Cameron Moore and Ryan White hammered home their superiority.

“For the players to go down to Cardiff on the day of the game, we set off at 10am on the coach, it was all part of the learning curve,” Lee explained. “We couldn’t have asked any more from them as players.

“There was the extra bit of pressure because they played at the main stadium, first-team dressing rooms, and the results during the day had gone well for them.

“Sometimes that has the adverse effect, players can take their foot off the gas. But the attitude and the energy was spot on – they won their tackles, did the basics.

“Then in the latter stages of the game we seem to be steamrolling teams. The fitness work they’ve done with Jack Fahey and the team is really paying off, they’ve done some wonderful stuff.

“The last two goals were scored late on but we were dominant throughout.”

Nicky Spooner’s Under-18s are also topping the table and Lee has brought in some of their regulars in recent weeks to start acclimatising them at the higher level.

The leap can, at times, be a brutal one. But Lee is happy with what he sees in the next generation of Bolton youngsters.

“It’s a great learning curve for people like Dennis Politic, Luca Navarro and Shak Jones, who have come into the team,” he said.

“Sometimes it highlights the weaknesses they have because they have not played development level.

“At Under-18s they have done really well but they’ve reached that limit now.

“It showed on Monday night, you only have to make basic mistakes and the opposition can capitalise, and it happened a few times.

“But sometimes you have to sacrifice their ability at Under-18s level and let them make mistakes and learn quickly. They will improve.”

Phil Parkinson has also managed to use the development squad at various stages this season to give players some game time.

The second team has often felt an afterthought at Wanderers in recent years, and it rarely ended well for an experienced player asked to turn out at Leyland on a Monday night.

But the likes of Adam Le Fondre, Derik Osede, Andy Taylor, Jem Karacan, Mark Little and Will Buckley have all appeared for Lee’s side at one time or another this season before going on to win back their first-team spot.

“I think it’s a good way of doing things,” said the Wanderers boss.

“There are times when you have in-house games and you can control them but others where you feel a player needs a good 90 minutes in them. I have found it beneficial when they get that game time – but they have to want to play.

“When senior players go down to the Under-23s sometimes, if they are not really up for the game, it can pull the level of their performance down.

“David stresses, and we stress, they are playing there for a reason.

“You have to make sure you get some benefit out of the game and give a good example to the younger players.

“I can’t remember a time this season where one of those players hasn’t played well.”