NEIL Danns says his adventurous summer on the international front has whet his appetite for success with Wanderers.

The midfielder refuses to be downbeat about the club’s chances in the Championship this season, despite many writing off any hopes of a top-six finish before a ball has been kicked.

Danns made his World Cup debut for Guyana in pre-season and has arrived back in the Bolton camp in a positive frame of mind. And the 32-year-old believes fans will see the difference as Neil Lennon is given a full campaign to work with the team.

“I’m not moping around at all,” he told The Bolton News. “I can’t wait for the season to start.

“We know we’ve got to improve. First of all we’ve got to look to finish higher up the league than we did last year and beyond that, who knows? Play-off places? Automatic? Stranger things have happened.

“Every club has those sort of ambitions at this stage of the season but I do think that having the manager there from the start will help us.

“We were always playing catch-up last year, whether it was because of a bad start, or with a new manager changing things, or then the injuries we got.

“I think it can be better this time.”

Danns made his international debut against St Vincent and the Grenadines in June but despite scoring twice, his Guyana team slipped out of the competition on away goals.

But he could get a second bite at the cherry, with a FIFA decision imminent on whether St Vincent fielded an ineligible player, which would grant Guyana a 3-0 walkover win.

Danns is hoping for a positive outcome and insists his globetrotting will not affect his form for Wanderers this season.

“It was a great experience,” he said. “Even though there were some complications with our citizenship, to score twice in the World Cup was incredible and now hopefully I get another crack at it.

“We’ve all got our fingers crossed. If it turns out well for me then it would be another great experience.

“It’s a long way to travel but I know players like Chung-Yong Lee who did it for years; this is all new to me.

“Maybe after a while it might wear you down mentally but for me it’s an adventure, it’s exciting, and I look forward to it.”

Meanwhile, Derby County have been given an extra 1,000 seats for the opening day game at the Macron, bringing their overall allocation to 3,629.

The Rams believe they are heading for a sell-out in what will be Paul Clement’s first game in charge.