It has been a solid, if unspectacular start for Bolton in League One this season, and Steven Schumacher knows there is still work to be done.
“Overall, the performances have been positive,” Wanderers head coach Schumacher tells Sky Sports. “In some aspects, we have been really strong defensively.
“We have also been creating good chances and having plenty of shots. Like any team, though, we would like to be a bit more clinical in the big moments.”
Schumacher, 41, arrived at the club in January, but they missed out on the play-offs in May and a rebuild in the summer was a necessity. In total, 14 new faces have come through the door for this season.
He felt it was important to reinvigorate a side that had lost out in the League One play-off final to Oxford United the season before.
“Some players left, and we brought in new recruits who added a bit of energy and freshness,” Schumacher explains. “The previous season, missing out in the Wembley final really impacted the team, and they did not start the season as well as they could have.
“For a club this size, not being in the play-off mix was disappointing. When I came in, we flirted with those spots but could not quite get over the line. So our focus this season was identifying what we needed to improve.”
Defensive solidity is at the heart of that plan. Last season, Bolton finished eighth in the table but managed to end the campaign with a negative goal difference.
“The standout issue was conceding too many goals,” Schumacher says. “It was not a problem creating or scoring goals, but letting in 70 goals over 46 games is far too many.
“We have been focusing on being better defensively, more organised, and valuing the importance of defending as a team. The first few games have shown some good signs, but there is still plenty of room for improvement.”
Six games into the campaign, Bolton have mustered seven points, and have kept just a single clean sheet. Six goals scored, six goals conceded.
Schumacher knows there is work to do in shaping his squad and his side the way he would like it to be.
“The best way to get players on board with that approach is to show them the benefits,” he says. “When everyone understands that conceding fewer goals keeps you in games, even if you are not playing brilliantly, they see how it helps the whole team.
“The fewer goals you concede, the less pressure there is to score multiple times to win games. The best teams concede the fewest goals, and that is what we need to emulate.”
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Highlights of the Sky Bet League One match between Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers
Schumacher’s last full season at this level saw him take Plymouth Argyle to the title with 101 points. That was just over two years ago, but he feels he has been on a personal journey since then, especially since departing Stoke City last year – which was his next stop following the Pilgrims.
“Personally, I think I have developed by becoming more patient,” he says. “At Argyle, we were very expansive, always playing on the front foot and running forward at every opportunity, and that worked because we had players with the energy to do it.
“In the Championship, you learn you cannot play that way all the time because the quality of opposition is higher, and you get punished if you lose the ball in poor areas.
“Now I am more conscious of what happens in transition and a bit more organised behind the ball. It is about finding the balance, being patient without losing that attacking intent.”
Bolton have picked up seven points from their first six games
The aim is now reshaping the Bolton squad to fit his strategies. A little patience will be required, but he is not under any illusions about the expectations at the club.
“You cannot do it all in one transfer window because of contracts and other factors,” he says. “From my experience at Argyle, it took a couple of seasons to really get the style of play and personnel we wanted before we won the league and got promoted.
“Here, there is more pressure to succeed quickly, and we do not have that kind of time. But we are moving in the right direction.
“I see a lot of similarities in this group to successful teams I have had before. They are determined, they work hard, and they have bonded well.
“But there is no hiding from the expectation. This club has been in League One for too long. Under Ian [Evatt], the team got close a couple of times, reaching the play-off semi-final and final, but last season did not go as planned.
“We know we have to be pushing for promotion and at the very least competing for the play-offs this season.”