KEN Anderson has urged stay-away fans to step forward after admitting he was “disappointed” with Wanderers’ crowd numbers against Derby County on Saturday.

The gate of 14,096 was only fractionally up on the season’s average over the first five games.

Anderson claims there has been a drop of around 2,000 coming through the turnstiles compared with the same time last year.

Wanderers averaged 15,887 last season, their highest return for four years and the 10th largest in the club’s history outside the top flight.

Bolton’s average gate as a second tier club is 13,697 – meaning they are still ahead of the curve.

But Anderson is frustrated that more supporters are not attending games at the University of Bolton Stadium.

“I thought that those who were in attendance on Saturday were in fine voice and I am very grateful for their support, I was a little disappointed with the total crowd figure of 14,096,” he said on the official website.

“It’s even more disappointing considering the good start to the season the team has made in comparison to last season.

“I really do hope that we can start to see the attendance figures increase, starting from this Saturday’s local derby against Blackburn Rovers.

“For the first five games of this season, we are down by an average of approximately 2,000 fans per match compared to the opening five games of last season. Although it is important to put this into context given that last season Leeds United (4,832) and Middlesbrough (4,165) brought large travelling support with them.

“We only have to look back at the attendance figures for the backend of our League One campaign a couple of seasons ago where we were getting crowds in excess of 20,000.”

Tickets for Saturday’s game against Blackburn, which falls into the top price Category A, range between £30-36 for adults, from £24 for Over-65s and Under-23s, £12 for Under-18s and £10 for Under-12s.

Rovers were initially allocated 2,658 tickets in the South Stand lower tier and their adult tickets are all priced at £30, in line with the corresponding seats in the North Stand.

The game will be broadcast live by Sky Sports and kicks-off at 5.30pm.