Bolton Wanderers captain George Thomason on promotion 'hurt'

The midfielder was given the armband in mid-November at a time when pressures had been piling on the former skipper Ricardo Santos.

Thomason featured 46 times for the Whites in what proved a disappointing campaign where the club’s much-publicised promotion targets never looked likely to materialise.

And the 24-year-old admits he probably took the failures more personally than anyone else, given he is now the longest-serving member of the first team squad.

“I do feel more responsibility, more so because I have been here so long and you get to resonate with what the fans want,” he told The Bolton News. “It is never nice coming off the pitch after a defeat, going over to applaud them, thank them for their support but knowing we haven’t delivered.

“That is what hurts me more, knowing the goal is to get out of this division. It’s the only goal for this club because where we are isn’t acceptable.

“I do feel responsibility because there has been so much growth here over the last few years – this feels like it’s the first real dip in a while.

“But it could be a blessing in disguise. We get to recharge and attack again, hopefully this time meeting that goal.”

Former boss Ian Evatt had said Thomason had a “different mentality” to the rest of his squad, which led to his decision to give him the captaincy.

In what proved a rocky season, the player himself concedes that leading the team has not been a straightforward task.

He said: “I probably got given the armband in unusual circumstances – I thought I’d slip into it relatively easily but it isn’t as easy as it looks. It was quite a tough transition.

“You are the guy that all your teammates look to on a day to day basis.

“I try and hold myself to a high standard on and off the pitch but it’s not just that, it’s about 20-odd other guys who you have to set the right tone for.

“It hasn’t been easy but it is something I have been learning and trying to get better at.”

Thomason played down the effect that last year’s play-off final defeat against Oxford United had on the club and says he will take criticism on the chin before coming back for pre-season and attempting to put things right.

“Maybe there was an element of a hangover but I don’t think we can use that as an excuse to stretch out what happened over the course of a whole season,” he said. “I don’t think we can hide behind that.

“We have just been inconsistent, through the whole season, that’s personnel, performances and results. There are times we should have capitalised and times we have been deservedly beaten.

“There will be criticism and that’s fine with me – I’ll go out Saturday and Tuesday and try to be the best version of myself, leave it all out on the pitch. In some ways I think that’s what helped me get the armband.

“And I will take criticism for performances – mine, or the group’s, I don’t mind. There is only one goal and everyone shares it, to win games and get promoted.

“When we come back, that’s exactly what we all aim to do.”