Steven Schumacher knows that the Bolton job comes with high expectations and is relishing the challenge ahead.

Schumacher arrives with the Whites sitting on the fringes of the League One play-off places and with a chance of climbing into the top six against Reading this weekend.

The 40-year-old knows what it takes to get out of the division, having achieved that feat with Plymouth in 2023 when the Pilgrims clinched the title.

When asked about the expectation at Wanderers, he replied: “So it should be. At a club the size of Bolton Wanderers and the fan base the size that it is… there is always expectation when you get to lead an establishment like this.

“That is OK, that is something that I can deal with. It is something that I have experienced before and something I am really looking forward to.”

The new boss added: “The short-term aims would be to try to get and keep the team in the promotion mix come the end of the season.

“That is what the objective of this football club is, to try and get out of this division, and I have got experience of doing that before. Hopefully, we can do it again.”

Schumacher arrives on the back of successive wins against Huddersfield and Northampton under interim boss Julian Darby.

“The players are an exciting group, they have got some real talent in there," he said.

“There are obviously areas of the team that I feel we can come in and add to, and hopefully try to help with.

“Getting to work in front of this huge fan base, an incredibly passionate supporter base, I just can't wait to get going.

"It is a hugely competitive league, it was last time I was in it. There are some really good teams in it again this season.

“There are a lot of young managers with positive ideas who have got teams playing really well. Hopefully, I can get our team playing equally well and we can have the same success that I experienced the last time I was in this division.”