Bolton Wanderers players express anger and frustration as they continue to wait for February wages 

Bolton Wanderers' Pawel Olkowski (not shown) scores his side's first goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Bolton Wanderers and Millwall at Macron Stadium on March 9, 2019 in Bolton, England
Bolton secured a crucial win over Millwall at the weekend in spite of the uncertainty surrounding the club Credit: Getty Images

Bolton Wanderers’ first team squad have expressed their anger and frustration as they continue to wait for their February wages to be paid.

Owner Ken Anderson delivered a message to the players, via assistant Paul Aldridge on Friday, stating that he would cover the cost of February’s wage bill – understood to total around £600,000 - regardless of whether there was any progress in a proposed takeover.

However, neither players nor coaching staff received the money owed to them on Monday, prompting a collective statement that accused Anderson of failing to keep his promise.

That was followed by a statement from the club, repeating their pledge that the outstanding wages would be paid once an update on the takeover talks has been made on Tuesday.

Bolton’s players, who beat Millwall in a crucial relegation clash last weekend, have still asked the Professional Footballers Association to intervene and the EFL confirmed they were looking into the matter.

“We, as a group of players, feel extremely let down by Ken Anderson once again,” the player statement read.

“We were promised on Friday that our wages and the staff wages would be paid to us by today (Monday). Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened. With no idea of when our wages will be paid our only option is to ask the PFA to take it up with the EFL and start proceedings on our behalf.

“Hopefully the issue gets resolved very soon so we can all move forward as a group and put all our focus into winning games of football and staying in the league.”

That forced the club to issue their own statement on Monday evening, with a spokesman adding that an update on the progress of the takeover would be made before Tuesday night’s game against Sheffield Wednesday.

 “We are disappointed that the players have taken this course of action; however we will continue to have ongoing dialogue with them,” the spokesman said.

“The takeover process is progressing, and all parties are working hard to reach a speedy completion. We hope to make a further statement prior to Tuesday’s game. Once finalised all outstanding salaries will be paid as a matter of urgency.”

It is not the first time that Bolton’s players have been victims of the dire financial situation at the club, with the PFA required to provide a loan in order for wages to be paid before Christmas.

The EFL confirmed they had asked Bolton to explain why the wages had still not been paid.

An EFL Spokesman said: "The EFL has today been informed by the PFA that the playing squad at Bolton Wanderers have not received their February 2019 payments.  As a result, the EFL has taken the appropriate preventative steps in line with our stated policies in this area and have asked the Club for its observations.”

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