THE remnants of Bolton’s weary Superwhite Army gathered before dawn in the frosty Reebok car park on Saturday, ready for the 247-mile trek to Ipswich.

Some may doubt our sanity but none of us want to miss the revival, if and when it comes.

We arrived five and a half hours later under blue skies and headed for the away fans’ Riverside pub, where once again we sampled the excellent Old Speckled Hen on draught.

Suitably refreshed, we made the short way to the ground, boosting the local’s confidence with tales of our recent form.

Lunch was a decent steak and ale pie in the ground. So far, so good.

No surprises with the team selection with the brave Tim Ream turning out in a Phantom of the Opera mask to protect his broken nose. The Wanderers edged the first half, creating what few chances there were.

Ipswich never looked like scoring until Andy Lonergan intervened with his second costly mistake in three matches, gifting David McGoldrick the penalty.

After that the heads went down. There was no fight, no passion, no spirit left in this team and they departed the field to a chorus of boos and chants of ‘Freedman out’ and ‘Gartside out’.

Events at the Reebok have been difficult to understand and accept all season.

This week they have been even more baffling with yet another striker going out on loan to fund another midfielder, when we are short up front and in defence.

To rub salt into the wounds, all three Bolton strikers on loan scored for their clubs.

Dougie Freedman and Phil Gartside may have a long-term plan but they need to attend to the present.

There are worrying signs Freedman has lost the dressing room.

Even Zat Knight has finally realised we are in a relegation battle.

It’s points we need, not performances otherwise, as we were singing on the long way home, ‘We’re all going on a League One tour’.