Jimmy Phillips will remain at Bolton as the club opt not to downgrade the Academy to Category 3.
Jimmy Phillips will remain at Bolton Wanderers as head of the Academy, after the club opted to retain it’s Category 2 status.
Ken Anderson, speaking to the Bolton News, said the option to downgrade was seriously considered, but in the end not taken.
“It was a difficult decision, based purely on the funding requirements, but we think that if the club is going to go forward in the future, this is the right thing to do. We have got to be category two,” he told the newspaper.
“If we have dropped down then realistically it would have meant laying off staff because it would have been a part-time operation.
“These aren`t people on footballer`s salaries, some are living hand to mouth, so there was that aspect to think about too.”
The academy has come into it’s own in the last 18 months or so, with Zach Clough, Josh Vela, Rob Holding all becoming fixtures in the first team, with Tyler Garratt and others impressing.