Bolton Wanderers defender Chris Forino said the club must “relish” the opportunity to play in the Championship this season after working so hard to win promotion from League One.
The 26-year-old was a key figure in the Trotters’ defence in the 2025-26 campaign and has had the “honour” of wearing the armband during pre-season in the absence of injured club captain Eoin Toal.
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“It’s an exciting time for this football club. We all set out last season to be here, we’re now here and we need to relish that,” Forino told BBC Radio Manchester.
Forino said it “certainly” feels like Bolton are back where they belong, competing in the second tier after a seven-year absence.
“Going back further, everyone knows Bolton is a very historic club that has had so many great days in recent history before that,” he said.
“For a fan at the moment it must be good to see us back on the rise. I’ve always associated Bolton with being a Premier League club.
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“That was the era I grew up in. And to play a tiny, tiny part in its history of getting them back to the Championship, it’s a great privilege.”
Bolton visit Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup for their first competitive game of the season on Saturday (15:00 BST) and Forino believes it will be a good test to prepare for the Championship opener against Preston the following weekend.
“I’ve never started with a Carabao Cup game before a league game. But it’s good because we’ve got a very good side in Sheffield Wednesday to play against,” Forino added.
“They’ll be right up there, in my opinion, in League One next season. So it’ll be really good game of football in a really tough away ground. So I’m looking forward to it.”
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