STUART Holden has confirmed he is close to signing a new deal with Wanderers – and in good shape to return to the Reebok for a potential play-off tilt.

Two games into a loan spell with Sheffield Wednesday, the US international has underlined his intention to return to Bolton for the last fortnight of the regular season.

Holden says he is at an “end-stage negotiation” with the Whites over a new contract, allaying any lingering fears that he could walk away for nothing this summer.

And the 27-year-old believes his spell at Hillsborough will also give him some vital match sharpness, which could yet see him play a part in the grand finale.

After featuring against Barnsley and Blackburn for the Owls, Holden could now play four more games for the South Yorkshire club before returning to join Dougie Freedman’s squad at the end of the month.

“It’s just repetition at this point,” the midfielder said in an interview with ESPN. “My strength is there, my fitness is there, it’s just building on that.

“You can always get fitter; you can always get stronger in little ways like that. And that’s what’s going to come in games.

“Getting knocked off the ball, riding a challenge, going to shoot and someone slide tackling you; you can’t replicate that in rehab and training as much as you want to. Those are things I’m looking to get more of, and in each game just getting better and more comfortable, and just getting back to the level I was at two years ago.”

A few eyebrows were raised among Wanderers fans when Holden was sent out on loan to Wednesday to get the game time he could not currently be guaranteed by Freedman.

After spending so long on the comeback trail from a series of serious knee injuries, to allow the midfielder to leave, albeit temporarily, was seen as something of a gamble.

But Holden reckons the experience of a relegation scrap under Dave Jones has been a positive one, and the former Houston Dynamo man had to get quickly up to speed after being plunged straight into the heat of a Yorkshire derby against Barnsley shortly after his arrival.

“The day before the game, I was still trying to familiarise myself with everybody completely because I didn’t want to be out there on Saturday not prepared,” he said.

“In the sense of footballing, the transition is fairly easy. The guys make you feel welcome, they help you on the pitch. I’m an experienced player I think at this point.

“I know how to carry myself on the pitch and learn things and pick things up. It’s in the middle of a relegation fight in the Championship. It’s end-to-end football, non-stop action. In the sense of getting my feet wet in the deep end, that’s the best way.”