Bolton manager Phil Parkinson confirms wages remain unpaid
Friday 8 March 2019 14:04, UK
Bolton manager Phil Parkinson has confirmed that the club's coaching staff and players have not been paid for February, despite being promised they would be by Friday.
The Sky Bet Championship club's manager also confirmed that there has never been a threat from the players to not play Saturday's game versus Millwall and that the game will go ahead as planned.
Chairman Ken Anderson has promised Parkinson that if the takeover has not happened by Monday he will then put the funds into the club to pay the players and football staff.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, the Bolton boss said: "Everybody else in the club today got paid which is good news, but the players and the first-team coaching staff, which includes myself, haven't been paid.
"What the chairman has said to us is if the proposed takeover isn't completed by Monday then he will pay everybody, all the players and existing staff.
"That communication is good and we know where we stand with that and we can concentrate on the weekend.
"I have said to the lads this morning, it's not 'can we put things behind us' it's 'we have to put it behind us'.
"The Millwall game is as big as they come and any problems or things in the back of our mind have to be put to one side.
"The minute everyone wakes up tomorrow morning we have to concentrate on what is a huge game.
"It is a frustration and gets too much airtime around the training ground which is not ideal."
There had been rumours that some of Bolton's playing staff were considering not playing for the club while the issue continued, but Parkinson dismissed that, saying: "I can assure you that was never the case.
"Throughout all the problems we have had the lads have done extremely well in training, and that's a great credit to all of them."
Anderson released a statement on Wednesday insisting that a sale was imminent and denying that he was set to make a big profit in the process.
There had also been concerns over whether outstanding payments to Greater Manchester Police could prevent Saturday's game going ahead, but a plan is said to have been agreed between the two parties.
Bolton are due in court next month to face a winding-up petition issued by HM Revenue and Customs, with the hearing scheduled to be held in the High Court on the morning of March 20.
The club sit one place off the bottom of the Championship and seven points adrift of safety with 11 games of the season remaining.
