Reading v Bolton Wanderers - The Big Match Preview

While everyone waited for white smoke to billow from the chimneys of the Toughsheet Stadium on Thursday, Julian Darby, Andy Tutte and Andy Taylor got players back together at Lostock, attempting to keep minds on this weekend’s trip to Berkshire.

All and sundry have tipped ex-Stoke City and Plymouth Argyle boss Steve Schumacher to be the next man in charge, and any deviation from that course would now come as a major bombshell.

Whether he would be in the stands, the dugout, or retreating to a safe distance for one last game remains to be seen. But suddenly the Bolton players are no longer turning out for a nameless cause, or in Darby’s own words to “go out and enjoy it” – they are very much now in an audition for a brand-new director with clout.

Pressure disappeared somewhat at Huddersfield last weekend. Expectancy was low, and the negativity which had festered in the last weeks of Ian Evatt had also dissipated. Wanderers and Darby took their opportunity masterfully and emerged with a result which put some players in a different light altogether.

Tuesday’s win against Northampton Town was equally scrappy, a display stripped down to basics and simplified but another one that showed there is a genuine strong heartbeat at the centre of this team.

Barring a shaky five minutes either side of the Northampton goal, the defensive solidity which has been missing for so much of the season, was there once again.

Will Forrester has settled instantly as the middle-man of a back three now being asked to protest their penalty area first, and launch attacks second. And for arguably the first time since he signed from Port Vale, the 23-year-old now seems to have a genuine niche in the side.

Either side of him, Gethin Jones and George Johnston have recaptured some former glories, and Newcastle United loan Alex Murphy came on for an impressive cameo on his debut.

With Eoin Toal, Ricardo Santos and Chris Forino all on the road back to full fitness, it is difficult to say with certainty how the back three will look under new stewardship. For Santos, whose contract is due to expire in the summer, the challenge of proving himself as indispensable to the incoming manager as he was for Evatt is even more immediate.

The transfer deadline expires on Monday evening and there is limited space left in the Wanderers squad to sign players, or at least those aged 21 or over.

Dion Charles’s sale to Huddersfield Town leaves them one striker short and the club’s much-publicised search for physicality up front remains unfinished. Should, as expected, Schumacher be sworn in, then his past history suggests he will definitely look to add a big number nine for use in emergencies.

The next few days may well see some snap judgements if there is to be some squad reshaping. And that does add an extra layer of pressure on Bolton at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, looking for a win that could lift them into the top six for the first time since October.

Psychologically, the achievement of getting the other side of the dotted line has been much discussed. After so long theorising and predicting with games in hand under the previous manager, they are now finally making some tangible progress. And if they can start next weekend with a home game against Crawley and the impetus of a new man in charge, then who is to say that cannot continue?

In Aaron Collins Bolton also have a striker in rude goalscoring form. His last 12 goals have come from 17 appearances in all competitions, and the swagger we saw at the end of last season – when he was effectively the last fit striker standing – has returned.

Wanderers’ last trip to Reading was characterised by missed chances, of ‘controlling’ possession and territory but emerging with little to show for it.

With Collins looking confident and a defensive unit operating as efficiently as they have in the last 12 months, there is understandable confidence that the same frustrations will not be an issue this time around.