ONE point Chris Markham is keen to make when discussing his job at Wanderers is that is not interested in top billing.

The man who will nevertheless play a major part in shaping Bolton’s recruitment this summer wants to let it be known that his sole aim is to be a cog in a successful machine.

Over the past few months, Markham has worked closely with Ian Evatt and Sharon Brittan to establish a framework which - with a fair wind – can help the club have a better transfer window than they did 12 months ago.

It is all more complex than that, of course, but Markham is gracious enough to try and keep things simple.

The former Huddersfield Town analyst, who also played a key role in Gareth Southgate’s think-tank in the England set-up, knows exactly the level of suspicion which had been levelled at his predecessor, if it is fair to use such a term.

Tobias Phoenix, the club’s former head of football operations, proved a divisive figure among supporters, and his relationships with the football department he fronted were not much better.

Phoenix left the building in December, leaving Evatt to shed his rather pejorative tag of ‘head coach’ and become a promotion-winning manager instead.

Markham – who was recommended to the board by Evatt – is proving a much more open book as technical performance director.

“It’s something we were very keen to sort when I first had discussions with Ian and Sharon, I was very keen not to be put into that bracket,” he tells The Bolton News.

“We spent a lot of time deliberating what the title of the role would be, what the scope of the role should be.

“The way I see it, there are two phases in the beginning. Firstly, to focus on short-term recruitment and get the manager players who can get us out of League One, play in the identity the manager wants to play in, which is an exciting one to be involved in.

“The way that system works is that I have an understanding of the way the manager wants to play. I was involved in David Wagner’s promotion at Huddersfield and it is a very similar style to this. I was also involved in the England set-up, establishing the Football Association DNA, and you’ve seen the evolution over the past five or six years of the pathway and the senior teams to be that possession-based, high pressing side.

“For me, it’s an easy one to create. I know what the manager wants, so I try and find as many players as I can that fit the profile that he requires for the different positions we need and then he makes the final call on the players who come in.

“At Huddersfield I was there under two directors of football, five or six managers, and it worked best without a doubt when the manager had the final say on which players come into the building. That is how it will work here.

“Stage two is more about giving assistance on the football side of things, so to give an example we’re starting from scratch really on sports science and first team analysis.

“My second role when we start getting out of the transfer window and starting to affect things for pre-season is asking how we can not only get the manager better players but also better information on the players he has already got?

“Really, I don’t like to be described as data-driven. I am very conscious that we don’t need that at the moment, it’s dangerous in the game. I am football focussed and I believe in evidence-based decision making, as does Sharon and Ian.

“How can we give the manager better information to make decisions on all aspects of football? Ultimately, that’s my role – and then eventually looking at the longer-term strategies for the club, the academy, and how we build and sustain a better Bolton Wanderers for the next five-plus years.”

Some may note that in his opening gambit Markham has communicated more about his intentions than Phoenix did in 11 months in charge of “all things football” but, to give balance, he is also yet to preside over a transfer window in which his work can be judged.

That is a challenge Markham is looking forward to meeting. Wanderers’ late surge for promotion may have altered slightly the pool of players which will be accessible this summer but not so the level of ambition.

“It has all been positive pressure, which is exactly what you want at a club and what we’ve had since I arrived,” he said.

“We looked at the league position and thought ‘right, where are we planning for next season?’ Was it a League Two squad capable of definitely getting us out of a division, or was it something different? And the positive pressure we now have on us is to build a squad that is capable of getting us out of League One, and that is what the manager has been pressing for right from when the run started, really.

“My remit has been not just players who can compete in League One, but players who can get us out of League One. That sums up his mentality, Sharon’s mentality, and I think it has spread through the club and the supporters, it is easy to see how we got on the run we did.”

Markham is also keen to stress that the positive environment created from boardroom to dressing room during last season’s promotion is not a common thing in the game.

After several years of dramas, where focus was so often taken away from the pitch, there is a welcome sense of calm as the celebrations calmed down this week and planning for the new campaign began in earnest.

“One thing I tried to make clear when I took the job and got the job, there is so much harmony at the top end of the club, it’s all transparent, there are no agendas, particularly on the football side it’s pretty rare in football – let alone Bolton in the last few years,” he said.

“There are three people involved in making the main football decisions at the club: Myself, Sharon and the manager. Everyone pulls in the same direction.

“There is no hidden agenda from the manager, the owner, and certainly from me, so it’s really refreshing to know there are no roadblocks or surprises lurking from a football perspective.

“Sharon and the manager need credit for that because of the way their relationship has evolved over the course of the season. You see it’s special and it isn’t that common in football. I feel in a really good position to help the club as much as possible being the third part of that relationship, so to speak.”

  • Tomorrow, Markham discusses the changing use of data and sports science at Wanderers and how he played a part in England’s successes in the 2018 World Cup finals.