Wanderers’ summer switch in style has suited Aaron Collins down to a tee.
The former Bristol Rovers man made a big money move to the Toughsheet Stadium in January hoping to provide the ammunition for Dion Charles in a promotion fight – but injuries wrecked Ian Evatt’s best laid plans.
Rather than being the subtle man in Bolton’s attack, Collins ended up being front and centre as he Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Cameron Jerome shouldered the burden up front for several weeks without respite.
The Welshman ended up with 14 goals and 11 assists to show for his hard work, but this time around he hopes an expanded attack can give him more freedom to both score and create.
Collins has been used as a secondary striker this summer, a new role which sees him working with another number 10 and taking on more responsibility out of possession.
You won’t find him complaining, however, as he feels it feeds into the strongest part of his game.
“That’s football,” he said of the changing duties. “I said coming in, and everyone knows it, I like to play number nine and number 10. I can play both positions and even when I played nine last season I was still floating around with different attributes to my game.
"Now I’m playing as a second striker, if you look at it, and it suits me because hopefully I can get the ball and be dangerous with it, make the runs in behind as well as dropping deeper.
“The last two seasons has been about goals and assists, that’s the aim again this season too.”
Wanderers are still active in the transfer market and are likely to be so until the very end of the month, looking for more options in the attacking department.
Collins has been impressed, however, by one of the new arrivals – Hungarian Szabolcs Schön – who made his debut as a left wing-back in Saturday’s 3-0 win at Port Vale.
“Yeah, he looks the business,” he said. “We have all spoken to him and he seems like a good lad. He has had minutes in pre-season at his last club, so he’s fit coming in. I asked him after the game, and he said he felt good.
“The main thing now is learning the roles and responsibilities of the team. I don’t think he looked out of place at all, and that’s testament to him because it isn’t easy coming into a new club with new formation and new ideas.
“I think he has done really well. I was on the same side as him there and I think he can build from there now and become a force.”
Wanderers start their campaign off at Leyton Orient, who proved a stubborn opponent at the start of the year just before Collins’ arrival.
Dan Agyei’s goal handed the Whites a rare defeat at the time and the East Londoners will be hoping to inflict another body blow on Saturday evening.
“It’s a tough start but it is what it is – you get the game you are dealt,” Collins said. “We are full of confidence at the moment. Nothing is going to change for us now.
“After what happened last season we have to put a label on it, make sure that people know we are here for business.
“We want to start the season off well, get ourselves off to a good start where we’re challenging up there at the top of the table, and that’s where we’ll want to stay.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel