STEVEN Schumacher intends to begin his summer rebuild on Monday morning by informing out-of-contract stars like Nathan Baxter, Ricardo Santos and Gethin Jones of their fate.
The Wanderers boss desperately wants to sign off in front of home supporters with a win against Stevenage tomorrow but can select from just 13 fit senior outfield players.
Youngsters like Sam Inwood, David Abimbola, Harley Irwin, Sean Hogan and Daeshon Lawrence will again be called upon to plug the gaps – but the occasion bears some significance as it also looks like being the final hurrah for some of Bolton’s biggest stars of recent years.
Santos has made 207 appearances for the Whites, Jones has 187 and Baxter 72, with all three considered integral to previous manager Ian Evatt’s plan for promotion.
But with Santos sidelined by a pelvic problem and Baxter dropped last weekend in favour of Luke Southwood, only defender Jones is likely to get a start on what could be their last game at the Toughsheet.
“I haven’t had those conversations with the individuals who are out of contract yet,” Schumacher told The Bolton News. “But I will on Monday and I’d said that to them weeks ago, I want to get the last game of the season sorted and then deal with that.
“Once we are done with Stevenage and the weekend, then I will sit down with the players and with the staff and review everything we need to review, have that discussion.”
Wanderers can’t improve their league position of eighth but they could yet drop places if they lose against Stevenage and Blackpool or Huddersfield pick up three points.
Schumacher is wary of sending the supporters away with something positive, however, and after an improved performance at Peterborough United last weekend he has called for one final push from the players who have reported for duty.
“That's the message,” he said. “Try and end on a positive, try and play well, get the performance right and work on a few things that we've been trying to do over the last couple of weeks and try and get a win for us.
“Yes, it's not the end of the season that we wanted, but it is what it is.
“We've got to accept that and do our best on Saturday and get ready for the next one.”
Schumacher arrived in late January with hopes he could push Wanderers on to a top six finish, after a season in which they had spent only 10 days in the play-off positions to that point.
He did briefly pick up enough points to make that a possibility but a crippling run of injuries and unavailability has contributed to a major tail-off in form, and Bolton will also be looking to ensure they don’t finish up with their longest winless run in four years this weekend, taking that into a potentially busy summer.
For Schumacher, who started this season in charge of Stoke City in the Championship, the campaign has been a huge learning experience.
“It has been a shorter season for me, but I was in work at the start of this season with Stoke, so it's been a different type of season,” he said. “A lot's happened. It was my birthday yesterday, and it feels weird what's happened in a year.
“A lot's gone on, so it's been up and down, but it's certainly been enjoyable.”
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