'Great lad' Luke wouldn't have been our No 1, admits Bolton boss

BOLTON Wanderers head coach Steven Schumacher has reflected on the sale of goalkeeper Luke Southwood to Bristol Rovers, revealing he would have been happy to keep the 27-year-old in the North West, but not as a first choice.

- Dan HARGRAVES [e-mail]

The Whites brought in Teddy Sharman-Lowe on loan from Chelsea last month, identifying the 22-year-old as their pick to be number one following the release of Nathan Baxter.

For Southwood, that meant having to either accept a backup role at the Toughsheet Community Stadium or seek regular football elsewhere. He chose the latter.

Bolton's loss should be Rovers' gain considering the pedigree of goalkeeper the Gas have signed in the form of Southwood, but Schumacher's vision for his goalkeeping department was clear.

Speaking to The Bolton News, the Whites boss explained: "I think it came to the point where, obviously I'd put Nathan Baxter in the goal for the last eight or nine games, and then Luke played the final two.