Trotters must cut costs

Phil Gartside: Counting the cost of relegation out of the Premier League

Bolton chairman Phil Gartside admits relegation out of the Premier League will force the club to slash their wage bill by 50 per cent.

The Trotters saw an 11-year stay among English football's elite come to an end on Sunday as they slipped through the top-flight trapdoor.

The cost of demotion is only just starting to hit home at the Reebok Stadium, with summer sales and drastic cost-cutting measures on the cards.

"If you look at our wage bill this year compared to what it was last year, allowing for a couple of people to come in, it will be up to 50 per cent of what we paid out last year," said Gartside.

"That flexibility is essential when you are going to lose £25 million of revenue.

"You've got to dust yourself off and get on with life. It's not the end of the world - we've got a plan and we'll implement that plan.

"This was always going to be a year when we restructured the club.

Sustainable

"Owen put a plan together 18 months ago that he wanted to reduce the age of the squad because he felt there were some older players in the squad that were going to come to the end of what were great careers, and he wanted to put something in place that was sustainable.

"We've had an academy for over 10 years and we never produced a boy from the local area from the age of seven that came through to the first team, and that has changed this year.

"We have got two boys who have made their debuts in Joe Riley and Josh Vela, both exciting players capable of playing first-team football, and we have got five or six other boys in the academy who are just as good, who are on the fringe of breaking in.

"That is a great achievement."

While player departures are inevitable, Gartside claims discussions have already been held regarding the retention of key men.

"We've had conversations already with some of the younger players, some of the older ones, and they are committed," he told the Bolton News.

"There may be one or two who might feel they still want to play in the Premier League, and that's fine, but we've got together the nucleus of a squad who want to show the fans that they are capable of keeping the team in the top division."