Bolton Wanderers manager Keith Hill has set out his demands for the young players at the club following his opening weeks in charge, report The Bolton News.

He has expressed fears that they are not spending enough time improving the technical side of their game, accusing them of spenging too much time in the gym instead.

“I want them to be the best footballing specimens, not just gym bunnies.

“They must also be able to be comfortable with the ball, I suppose they have to have a relationship with it. I have not seen enough of that from my players, individually.

“I go into the gym and see them all doing shoulder presses, bench presses, sit ups and then I ask them to do a little bit of two-touch and the ball is all over the place."

The youth players at the club were put under huge pressure during the opening matches of the season as they bared the brunt for the lack of first-team players.

But after a late summer overhail, Hill has brought in a senior squad that he hopes will have enough about it to overcome the 12 point deduction and survive the drop.

They picked up their an impressive point on Saturday when they held promotion hopefuls Sunderland to a 1-1 draw at home, with a last-minute penalty depriving them of all three.

This weekend sees them travel to struggling Portsmouth in a match that both sides will feel they have a chance of winning.

The verdict

It should come as no surprise to Bolton fans and players that Hill is willing to speak his mind.

He will not want to mess around. He has a huge task on his hands to keep Bolton in the league so if he sees something that needs improving, he needs to take issue with it as soon as possible.

It is now important that the youngsters at the club follow through with whatever Hill's instructions are as that extra depth from further down the ladder could prove crucial in the latter stages of the season.