Jack Iredale only wanted to seal a move to Bolton after he learned of interest from Wanderers and believes Gethin Jones was 'instrumental' in reinforcing his desire to come to the club.
The 26-year-old joined Wanderers as the club's first summer signing. He signed a three-year deal with the Whites after departing Cambridge United on a free transfer.
He has travelled out to Portugal to take part in his new club's week-long training camp on the Algarve. He is the only new signing to make the trip as loanees James Trafford and Conor Bradley have remained at home due to recent international duties.
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Iredale joined Wanderers not long after the 2021/22 season concluded. He sealed a move to Wanderers, though there were reports linking him also with Preston North End and Wigan Athletic.
But the Australian, who hails from Perth after being born in Scotland, said he only wanted a move to Wanderers and glad it was got done early in the summer. He believes Wanderers vice-captain Jones, a former team mate from his Carlisle United days, played a big part in helping to make his mind up and he integrating into the squad at the club's training camp.
He said: “I just said to my agent ‘get it done, just get it done.’ He listed off some clubs and was just talking about opportunities but as soon as I spoke to Gethin as well, he was instrumental in reinforcing what I already knew. When a club as big as Bolton say they’re interested, you can’t say no, can you?
“I was glad that I could get signed and the medical and all of that sorted just at the every end of the season basically. It gave me the entire off season to try and do what I was going to do. Obviously I’ve been home for a good couple of weeks and now I’m back here, it’s straight into it and try to get everything off the pitch sorted as well as all the stuff for pre-season as well. It’s been full on!”
“I’m very lucky to be out here and using these facilities for training so I’m trying to make the most of it.”
“Getting thrown at the deep end basically spending 24 hours a day with the boys. I’ve been made to feel super welcome and I already feel a part of the group as well so I thank the boys for that and helping me trying to hit the ground running.
“Geth’s been looking after me. I said before that as soon as I heard about the interest I was straight on the phone to Geth and he was only saying ‘just come to the club’ basically. If there’s anything I need, I can chat to Geth, but now I know a couple of the other boys as well. They’ve all been really accommodating and making me feel super welcome.”
Iredale has been in the UK playing professional football for the past five years and recently left the U's to join Wanderers. He spent two seasons at the Abbey Stadium and helped the club win promotion to League One in the 2020/21 season as Cambridge were promoted along with Bolton.
He feels his exploits at Cambridge has helped him be noticed by Wanderers. He admits it has been a shift in mentality and culture moving to a new club, but he believes the standards set in training will help him develop his game even further.
Iredale said: "I always knew that I had the ability to be able to do it. It was just trying to find the environment that would let me do that. Obviously the journey I’ve been on through the injuries and then trying to get my foot in the door and get myself a base and go on from there.
" I started a bit later than most boys would but I’ve been here for five years now in the UK and the last two seasons I spent at Cambridge especially were instrumental in my development. The first half of the season at Carlisle as well, it gave me the platform to be able to get noticed and recognised by a club as big as Bolton and now I’m just happy to be here as well.
“It’s a little bit of a culture shift and mentality shift, but it’s setting standards and demands that are super high and it’s up to me to meet those standards. The standard at training and the standard of the other players as well has been really good and a training environment like this is only going to help me develop as well.”
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