Exclusive: Phil Brown reveals Sharon Brittan, Bolton Wanderers talk ahead of play-off final | OneFootball

FLW spoke to the former Whites defender and assistant manager ahead of the League One play-off final

Bolton Wanderers and their supporters have certainly been on an emotional rollercoaster over the past decade, but they are Wembley-bound yet again, hoping to make it 'third time lucky' in the League One play-offs.

Just short of seven years ago, the Whites were on the brink of extinction after financial mismanagement under the ownership of Ken Anderson, leading to an eleventh-hour takeover by Sharon Brittan through the Football Ventures consortium.

Ultimately, a 12-point deduction led to relegation from League One to League Two for the 2020/21 season, and after a mixed start under Ian Evatt, Wanderers immediately returned to the third tier on the final day.

Although Bolton have been 'rebuilt' from the bottom up over time, that hasn't taken away from the fact they are a very big fish within the EFL's lower reaches, taking into account that, approximately 20 years ago, the club were one of the most consistent sides in the Premier League, leading to UEFA Europa League stints and encounters with Bayern Munich and Atlético Madrid.

Ultimately, Evatt wasn't quite able to restore the Trotters back to the Championship despite an EFL Trophy success in 2023 over Plymouth Argyle, losing in the 2022/23 semi-finals to Barnsley and the 2023/24 final at Wembley Stadium to Oxford United.

As such, after an intriguing first full season at the Toughsheet Community Stadium, one-time League One title-winner, Steven Schumacher, will hope to lead his side to North London glory over Stockport County on Sunday afternoon after defeating Bradford City, who were only promoted from the fourth tier 12 months ago, 2-0 over the two-legged semi-finals.

Ex-Bolton Wanderers hero Phil Brown reveals Sharon Brittan talk ahead of Wembley showdown

Since the play-offs were introduced 40 years ago, the Lancashire outfit has been involved in the post-season lottery several times at varying levels, with Phil Brown familiar with what it takes to succeed in them as an assistant manager under Sam Allardyce, before winning them as a manager with Hull City and Southend United.

Two of his former sides are bound for the national stadium in the space of 24 hours next weekend, and the 66-year-old was quick to pay tribute to the aforementioned Brittan and Schumacher in particular, when in exclusive conversation with Football League World.

"I’ve never met Schuey (Schumacher)," Brown told FLW. "I'd played against him a couple of times, but never met him and talked to him about his management style or philosophy.

"But you can see a lot of that in the way his team plays, (it) emulates that he's a student of the game, a student of the management game. They try and pass the ball in the right manner, but they're destructive and organised without it as well.

"There's lots to like about Bolton Wanderers' campaign this year. I had the pleasure of joining them for a night through the ex-players' association, which is very well-supported," he added.

"I had a chance, recently, to go a weekend in Bolton where there was an evening with myself (and others), and there was a good turnout. About 250, 300 people turned out, and it was on the night before the Wycombe Wanderers (home) game. I was doing a bit of work the following day, so I didn't get to see the game.

"Having met Sharon (Brittan) that night, she epitomised what the ownership of Bolton Wanderers is all about," the former defender and assistant explained.

"You've really got to fall in love with the football club, fall in love with the people and the ex-players' association, and respect that. She really supports the whole club right across the board.

"It was really nice to meet her. We had breakfast the following morning in the (stadium) hotel before I set off. She was saying that the seven years had been a test, there's no doubt about it, from a financial point of view, to steer the club in the right direction again. All these things are important. It might not sound like I'm talking about football here, but the finances of a football club are really important."

"She said it was really enjoyable. I was having breakfast with John McGinlay, meeting the old players and what we went through back in the day, because football's football, but a club remains the same. The way you are and the way you are as supporters. They've been through trials and tribulations similar to Hull City. But no two stories are the same, are they?

"Clubs can be similar, but they're never the same," Brown stated.

"After listening to her, I looked at the teleprinter as we all do on a Saturday night at 4:40PM back in the day, and it was 2-0 at the time. I was listening to Radio 5 driving away from the Kidderminster vs Buxton game. Radio 5 was saying, '88 minutes on the clock, Bolton Wanderers nil, Wycombe Wanderers two'. And I'm thinking, 'wow'.

"From 'last night', how she was feeling and how the previous seven years have been, to being beaten by a club that you expect to win (against). And in the last five minutes of that game, two minutes of normal time, three minutes of added time, Bolton Wanderers won 3-2. In my opinion, that was the moment I thought they were going to get promoted (automatically).

"But it's been tough. When you get into the playoffs, people expect you to be there, and you're planning and preparing for it. It's difficult to turn players.

"The players' mentality is that we're already in there, we'll just hang in there. We'll not go for automatic promotion. All these words are going around in your head, and they are sometimes reflected in your performance. But, Bolton had got a foothold in that game (the first semi-final v Bradford).

"The first game, 1-0, and I thought that goal (from Amario Cozier-Duberry) was good enough. And then, sure enough, on Thursday when I was watching the game, they were waiting for the moment.

"The moment came along just at the right time when a goal had been denied, from Bradford City's point of view, for offside. I thought, 'wow, if they've got away with that, it's a good time to hit them now.' Within a minute, it was 1-0 Bolton, 2-0 over two legs and game over.

"They're going there (to Wembley) against local rivals, Stockport County, with one of the greatest managers that Stockport's ever had. I'll tell you, Dave Challinor, and Dave's a serial winner," said Brown.

"He's a serial playoff manager. 10 seasons or 12 seasons, he's been involved in 10 playoffs, won four, lost six. But being involved in 10 playoffs, that tells you he's a serial manager, a serial winner.

"He's got like a 45% win ratio. That keeps you in work, that gets you into the playoffs, that gets you recognition, and he's there again. So it's not going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination, but the whole of the North West will be down there, I should imagine."

Phil Brown discusses influential Bolton Wanderers trio ahead of Stockport County clash

Both semi-finals against the Bantams were decided by two crucial moments provided by Brighton and Hove Albion loanee, Cozier-Duberry, who has posted 10 goals and 12 assists in 42 games, and former Chelsea youngster, Xavier Simons.

Discussing the impact of those two in particular against Graham Alexander, as well as Hull loanee, Mason Burstow, Brown gave the trio plenty of credit for how they have transitioned from academy football into first-team regulars making strong impacts.

"Very simple. That's the thing, Brown continued.

"It's the youthful side of it, being able to control it, understanding how they want to play because everyone wants to pass the opposition off the park these days, understanding that that's going to be part of their psychology.

"That's the way they've been brought up as academy players. But then, understanding that at the end of the day, all this passing lark (means little).

"You've got to win a game of football because that's what you get judged on. That's what you get. That's what the measure of a good player is. What is your win ratio? Can you win a game of football the way you play it? Can you blend it into the style of football that Schumacher wants to play?" he debated.

"I think the three mentioned there (Cozier-Duberry, Burstow and Simons) are all playing a big, big part in the success story.

"It wasn't easy because the club had moved on, in the last two or three years, in different stages, such as in the change of management and the change of style.

"But, I think the common denominator is the fact that the Bolton fans, you can't 'kid' them. They're very genuinely honest working-class people who want to be rewarded with hard work. A little bit of quality comes in handy, but the hard work comes first.

"I think that's the reason why I probably had the success that I had as a player, coach or assistant manager at Bolton, but understanding the supporters was the most important part. I later went to Hull City and took that belief with me and undeStood the supporters at Hull City.

"That's one of the main reasons why we had the success that we had," Brown affirmed.