WANDERERS are expected to confirm the departure of sporting director Chris Markham this week and begin the process of finding a replacement to head their recruitment department.
According to the Bolton News, Markham has left the club after four years, having played a key role in the hiring of current head coach Steven Schumacher.
Formerly with the Football Association and Huddersfield Town, the 38-year-old was hired as technical performance director in January 2021 to replace Tobias Phoenix, changing his formal position a few years later after the board formed ties with external data business Ludonautics.
Though Markham and Evatt were successful in the transfer market, reactions have become more harsh in recent windows. This season’s instability and failure to compete for an automatic promotion berth has resulted in both guys departing the club.
It is expected that Bolton will attempt to hire another figurehead before the conclusion of the season to manage their recruitment and analysis department, while Schumacher’s role as head coach will remain unchanged.
Possible candidates include Neil Dewsnip, who previously worked with the Bolton manager at Plymouth Argyle and whose late father Jimmy was also a youth coach at Burnden Park in the 1990s, helping to guide a number of Merseyside-based youngsters through the club’s ranks.
Wanderers made it four wins out of five in the league on Saturday, defeating Shrewsbury Town 3-2 at the Croud Meadow.
Schumacher conceded it had been an unsatisfactory first half effort, but a goal from Eoin Toal on his birthday and two from John McAtee brought the Whites level with next weekend’s opponents, Leyton Orient and Charlton Athletic, for the last play-off berth.
More than 1,600 fans traveled to Shropshire, and the head coach feels their support was one of the main aspects in giving his team the momentum they needed in the second half.
“Even before the game started we had talked about putting on a performance, go and scrap, go and fight and battle but for 25-30 minutes we didn’t really do that,” the coach told The Bolton News.
“We let ourselves down; they won all the second balls, and credit to Shrewsbury; sometimes you have to admit they were the superior team in the first period.
“But that’s when you need the fans; they brought us back in the game, got us moving, and scoring three goals in front of them is fantastic.
“The substitutions had a significant influence. Szabi Schon provided a fantastic assist for the third goal, and Jordi was excellent – I didn’t believe he was on Tuesday night, and we discussed it. When he has that kind of pace and intensity, he needs to give us that push.
“Victor came in and did his part to keep the ball for us, Big Chris (Forino) played some crucial minutes, and Josh (Sheehan), well, we know what to expect from him.
“It was a hard decision to keep Josh out of the starting XI since he’s been brilliant in our past two games. However, the game was exactly what we were expecting. We didn’t expect to play much football, but the rain and the condition of the ground allowed us to play a little more.
“That’s why we were keen to get Josh on early as well, just to get us taking over, which is what he’s really good at.”
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