Bolton Wanderers head coach Steven Schumacher is looking forward to the new season after securing a victory over NAC Breda in their final pre-season match. The game was played as part of Bolton's shortened pre-season schedule, following their success in the play-off final against Stockport County just five weeks prior.
The decisive goal came from Ruben Rodrigues in the first half, ensuring that Bolton left the field with a win and heading into competitive fixtures on a high note. Schumacher acknowledged the challenges posed by NAC Breda's playing style but was pleased with his team's overall performance.
‘We knew it was going to be a short and sharp pre-season,’ Schumacher said, ‘Five weeks, five games, different tests for us.’ He added that there were no major injuries or new issues during the pre-season, making him confident about their readiness for the upcoming Championship season.
Schumacher also highlighted areas of improvement. 'It will be different for us because I don't imagine us to have, on average, 70 per cent possession like we did last year,' he said. 'The level that we're going up to, the quality of the teams is obviously much better so they will have more spells of possession than what the teams in League One did.'
He emphasized the need for his team to be more clinical and efficient on transition plays. ‘We had five big chances on transition and didn't do well enough,’ Schumacher noted, adding that this would be a focus during training sessions.
The coach also mentioned the positive impact of bringing in better players who are more decisive and make good decisions, which will help improve their overall performance.
‘Obviously, if you bring the better players in, they're more clinical, more decisive and make good decisions as well so that will help that process too,’ Schumacher concluded.
