Bolton Wanderers head coach Steven Schumacher insists his side have earned their place at Wembley as they prepare to take on Stockport County in the League One play-off final tomorrow afternoon.
The Trotters are aiming to return to the Championship for the first time since 2019 at the National stadium in what will be their second play-off final in three years. The lost to Oxford United in the final in 2024 before last season’s disappointing eighth-placed finish.
Bolton spent much of the campaign in third behind eventual automatic promotion winners Lincoln City and Cardiff City, but a run of just two wins from their last 10 games saw them finish fifth. This set up a play-off semi final with Bradford City, where a pair of 1-0 wins saw them set up the clash with Stockport.
Schumacher Keen To Achieve Season Objective
After taking charge of Bolton in January 2025, Schumacher knew full well what was expected of him in his first full season in charge. Speaking to official club media ahead of tomorrow’s showdown, the 42-year-old said:
“That was the brief at the very start of the season. We want to be in the mix, we want to try and get ourselves into the Championship. We feel as though we’ve earned this right to be in the last game of the season and now it’s about trying to perform to the best of our ability and make sure that we get the job done.
“It will mean everything, it really will. It’s been the objective since I came to the club, to try and get into the Championship, so it’s going to mean so much. But we’ve got a lot of work to do. We know we’re 90 minutes away, potentially, from achieving what we all set out to do and let’s hope we can go and do it.”
Stockport Will Provide Stern Test
Bolton are the slight favourites to triumph at Wembley, but Stockport will take some beating. The Hatters have had the better of their opponents since moving into League One in 2024, winning three and drawing one of their four meetings since.
Dave Challinor’s side did rise up the table to clinch a second-successive third-placed finish on the final day and easily dispatched of Stevenage in the semi-final. In short, this looks like it could go down to the wire.
Schumacher knows his team will need to be at their very best to clinch victory, although they will have to do it without captain Eoin Toal. The defender picked up a hamstring injury at Valley Parade against Bradford last week, ruling him out of the contest.
