Steven Schumacher issues "perfect" Bolton Wanderers claim amid Stoke City comparison | OneFootball

Bolton Wanderers head coach Steven Schumacher has revealed the factors that led him to take the job in January.

Bolton Wanderers head coach Steven Schumacher has described the North West club as "a perfect fit" for him as a manager.

The former League One winner with Plymouth Argyle gave a two-hour-long interview with Inside The Game podcast, where he opened up on all things football, including his recent move to Lancashire.

The 41-year-old arrived at the Toughsheet Community Stadium in late January, replacing Ian Evatt, who struggled to find consistency in the first-half of the 2024/25 season.

Schumacher came in and steadied the ship, but ultimately was unable to guide the Trotters into the play-offs, as a poor run of results towards the end of the season saw them drop out of the top six.

Bolton Wanderers manager job is "perfect" for Steven Schumacher

Now, the Bolton chief has spoken out via Inside The Game podcast about what convinced him to take the job, and has set out some short-term goals for himself, and his club.

In the interview, Schumacher spoke about the factors that made him keen to secure the job in Lancashire, citing the club's stature in League One, and the potential it has to become something even greater - comparing it to the ambitions that he had when he took the Stoke City job in 2023.

He said: "For me, this [job] is perfect. It's a club that's got a huge reputation, a huge fanbase, huge expectations, a good budget for the league, the location works perfect.

"I think if it [Bolton] gets into the Championship, it's got the capability of what I was expecting at Stoke. It can eventually go and kick on, and push to get into the Premier League.

"It's got really good owners, I must say that, that are very similar to the ownership and the running behind the scenes to what I had at [Plymouth] Argyle, not what I had at Stoke. It ticked loads of boxes, and I really wanted it," Schumacher finished.

Steven Schumacher has set ambitious Bolton Wanderers targets

At the end of the interview, Schumacher was quizzed on his short-term objectives at Bolton, and he wasn't afraid to admit that he's once again aiming to be towards the top of League One in the near future.

The Wanderers head coach continued: "[My] short-term ambition is to get back into the Championship with Bolton. It's a fantastic club, and that's all I'm focused on.

"It's got to be that, because if I do that, then I become a coach then that has had two promotions, won the league at one. If I get a promotion, that'll be another one. Two promotions at 41-42, which is good, young.

"Then I would like to establish in the Championship. So I had six months at one team [Plymouth], and did well. [I had] six months with another team [Stoke] that did well, because we achieved the objective, but not a full season with any.

"So I'd like to get into the Championship and go 'come on let's build something here,' with Bolton," Schumacher concluded.

After a summer of change off the pitch which saw the Trotters bring in plenty of new faces to help the 41-year-old behind the scenes, there is certainly no reason to believe that Schumacher won't achieve these objectives in the coming season.