Josh Vela is a young man on a mission – to make up for lost time and get back into the first-team picture for Wanderers.

Injuries have hampered the Salfordian’s career after being handed his debut almost two years ago by former Whites manager Owen Coyle.

Coyle rated Vela highly enough to hand him a professional contract when he was just 17 and his successor Dougie Freedman has also been impressed with Vela whenever he has been fit to train or play for the Under-21s.

But the fact that has not been often enough has frustrated both manager and player alike.

Now Vela hopes his fitness problems are behind him and that recent displays for the second-string will help his bid to stake a claim for the first team.

With the midfield department one where Wanderers are blessed with quantity as well as quality, however, Vela admits it will be a challenge – but one he will not shy away from.

“There is a lot of competition in midfield at the moment, but it’s just something that’s going to make me a stronger and better player in the long run,” said Vela.

“We’ve got six or seven really talented midfielders now so it’s not an easy position to break into.

“I’m confident, though, if I give my all, I’m more than capable of staking my claim for a spot.

“I’m just determined to make that breakthrough again.

“This season has been frustrating because I have had quite a few niggling injuries, so I’ve been playing with the Under-21s for the past few months to get my fitness back up.

“It’s a completely different game compared to the first team, but I just wanted to get back playing on a weekly basis so it’s a case of needs must.

“I’m more than happy to stay involved with the Under-21s, but I’m working towards getting back involved with the first-team on a regular basis.

“I just want to get as much experience as I can to make me a better player and hopefully nail down a regular starting place.”

Still aged only 20, Vela has been at Wanderers so long he feels like one of the more experienced players on the fringes of the first team.

He has figured just twice this season, his latest outing in the FA Cup third round victory against Blackpool.

But since overcoming his injury problems, the midfielder has featured regularly for Jamie Fullarton’s development squad.

And he says taking on the role of an old head with the younger members of the U21s following in his footsteps from the Whites Academy has matured him as a player.

Vela added: “I’ve found a lot of the younger lads do look at me as a leader in the team, which is a great feeling and good experience for the future.

“I’m still only 20 and I’ve experienced a lot in comparison to a few of the lads in there, so I just hope I can give them any advice they need and in turn help myself become a better player.

“I’ll take things that I’ve picked up in first-team training and share them with them so they have a taster of what’s to come. Hopefully, that will go some way in helping them to develop.

“It’s nice to see some of the younger lads like Zach (Clough) and Tom (Youngs) on the fringes of the first team now.

“Having been where they are, I know what it feels like.

“I’m confident they’ll get their chances. Tom has already had an opportunity when he came on in the Capital One Cup against Tranmere. They are such talented players that I think it’s only a matter of time before they do break through properly.”

Vela certainly knows what it is like to be inspired by first-teamers, admitting it was a huge incentive when he first broke through.

He is now having to do that all over again and is calling on those experiences as he looks to get back into the fold.

He said: “It has been a lot to take in being so young, but I think in doing that it’s helped me to develop personally, too, and mature a lot quicker than I would have done had I not been involved in football.

“I just want to get back playing regularly in front of the Bolton fans.

“You can’t beat playing at the Reebok – the fans have been great with me from the word go.

“I think the fact I’m a local lad who has come up through the academy helps.

“Fans love to see one of their own making it in the first team.

“Whenever I hear them cheering for me, it gives me a massive confidence boost.

“You look at some of the players who have come through in the past like Kevin Nolan and you just want to follow in their footsteps.

“I worked my way up through the system before eventually breaking into the first team.

“When I joined the club, Bolton had some absolutely amazing players in the team like Jay Jay Okocha and Youri Djorkaeff, plus a lot of international players.

“When I came to watch players like that pulling on a Bolton shirt it was just unbelievable and a big incentive.

“It’s been a long road but I got there eventually.

“It’s always frustrating when you get injuries because it does knock you back a couple of months.

“But it has just made me more determined to bounce back.”

Manager Dougie Freedman is tipping young winger Rob Hall to be a star for Wanderers – but will not be rushed into fast-tracking his development.

Freedman signed the highly-rated 20-year-old from West Ham in the summer after a brief loan spell at the end of last season, with a tribunal setting a fee in the region of £450,000.

Hall has since been used sparingly this season, starting just seven of his 17 appearances and is likely to be in reserve again when Watford visit the Reebok on Saturday.

It has led to frustration among some sections of the Whites support who have only seen glimpses of the Aylesbury-born youngster’s potential.

But Freedman is determined to nurture his talent patiently, similarly to the way he developed youngsters like Nathaniel Clyne and Wilfried Zaha at his previous club Crystal Palace.

He believes the rough and tumble at the wrong end of the Championship will take some adjustment from the former Hammer and is not the place for inexperience.

The Whites boss said: “Rob has shown glimpses to the Bolton fans that he will be good in the future but right now he’s still developing and growing as a player.

“At times I think the Championship is a little bit too hustle and bustle for him and he’s got to learn how to handle that.

“I have got no fear throwing him in because I know he’s talented enough.

“But I feel naturally cautious about how much it could harm him if it doesn’t come off and how long it could take him to come back from that.

“In my experience, this (a relegation fight) is not the right situation for younger players because it might scar them for the longer term.

“When Rob is on his game he’s very capable of playing at this level but right now I don’t think the team is set up for him.

“We maybe need to grind ourselves through a set of results.

“I honestly believe that when we do that, the Robert Halls of this world will be the stars of the show.”

Hall’s absence from regular team selections has also led to some criticism of Freedman’s methods and a lack of youthfulness in his Wanderers team.

There have been brief squad places for the likes of Andy Kellett and Tom Youngs this season but few have progressed from the Whites youth ranks and development squad to the senior side.

Freedman has previously stated his desire to blood youth but says that will only happen when he believes they are ready for a seamless transition.

He added: “When I go and see the Under-21s they have got to be performing at a level from which I feel they are capable of making the step up.

“To be fair, there are now one or two knocking on the door.”

Frederick Graham will officiate Wanderers’ Sky Bet Championship clash with Watford this weekend.

An experienced face in the game with over a decade spent plying his trade as a professional referee, Graham has taken charge of 22 matches so far this term, dishing out 76 yellow and one red card in the process.

This weekend’s game will be the first Bolton match which the Essex based official will have taken charge of, with him having overseen Oxford’s 3-0 win over Mansfield in his last outing.

Nigel Murphy and William Smallwood will run the line, while David Coote is the fourth official.

Wanderers could face the risk of a transfer embargo if they do not stick to a prudent spending policy, according to manager Dougie Freedman.

The Scot added just three new loan faces to his squad during last month’s transfer window in the shape of Neil Danns, Lukas Jutkiewicz and Liam Trotter but, crucially, did not secure the defensive cover he desperately requires.

A loan move for West Brom left-back Goran Popov was vetoed at the last minute by the Premier League last week increasing the Scot’s frustration.

Jermaine Beckford’s untimely hamstring injury, coupled with Craig Davies going out on loan to Preston and David Ngog’s sale to Swansea also left the Whites shy up top, though Freedman hopes to confirm the return of ex-loanee Joe Mason from Cardiff before Saturday’s clash with Watford.

He concedes financial constraints have hampered his ongoing reshaping of the Wanderers squad but knows the current climate dictates transfer policy.

And he has reiterated he is not willing to put the club in jeopardy despite their predicament at the wrong end of the Championship table.

Freedman said: “People ask why we haven’t bought a couple more strikers in, or full-backs, and it’s a great idea. I share the frustration because I’d love to look at my bench and think I’ve got three or four different options.

“But we have to face reality here.

“We are a club who are still holding Premier League wages and you cannot hide away from it but that doesn’t guarantee you success.

“It doesn’t guarantee you anything at all.

“It just means the manager at that particular time has to manage the financial situation as well as the playing side and make sure that is moving forward.”

Clubs who do not manage their finances prudently face the threat of sanctions under Financial Fair Play rules, including transfer embargoes.

Nevertheless, the Whites boss believes adding the right players to his squad is important – ones who are at the right age and hungry to improve and do not prove excessive burdens on the club’s finances.

And while he admits he would like more options, Freedman is confident the players he has drafted in this season can provide a core for the future.

He added: “In my view, it is about bringing players in like Liam Trotter, Jay Spearing, Rob Hall and even Lukas Jutkiewicz, who I’m quietly trying to say is doing okay, but everyone knows he’s doing better than that.

“They are the kind of players I am building this thing around.”

If there is one player at Wanderers who will quickly move on from the disappointment of a missed penalty at the weekend, it is loan striker Lukas Jutkiewicz.

Still only 24 years old, the forward has proved he has the ‘bouncebackability’ several times in his fledgling career.

Released as a schoolboy by boyhood club Southampton, Jutkiewicz kick-started his career at Swindon and earned a move to the Premier League with Everton.

That switch did not go exactly to plan and the youngster took the brave decision to leave Goodison Park and start again at Coventry.

A big-money move to Middlesbrough came next but injuries again hampered his progression.

Never one to let his head drop, though, Jutkiewicz hopes his move to Wanderers last month can be beneficial to both himself and the Whites.

Aside from that squandered spot-kick at Millwall, two goals in his last three matches has been encouraging.

And he can call on his previous experiences to focus on the positives.

Jutkiewicz said: “It was an easy decision to join Bolton and I’m relishing showing the fans what I can do.

“It’s been a bit of a mixed bag at Middlesbrough.

“When I joined them on loan, I had a really good time but when I had my first full season last year, it was the first time in my career that I’ve really struggled with injuries.

“When I was playing regularly I did score quite a few goals, but I struggled for consistency because of the injuries I’d picked up which was frustrating.

“It’s a great opportunity for me at Bolton now. As soon as the chance came up, I felt like it was the right move for me to make.

“It’s a different challenge but it’s one I’m looking forward to.

“It has been a regular thing for me in my career so far.

“It was hard to take it when I got released by Southampton at 14, but I just stayed involved in football by playing locally again until I finished school a couple of years later and I signed for Swindon.

“I was, ironically, playing against them in a schoolboy game when they scouted me, and they brought me to the club when I was just 16.

“That was a successful time. I was lucky enough to be drafted into the first team just before my 17th birthday and I made my debut soon after before going on to spend the rest of my time there in the first-team squad.

“I played quite a few games and we even got promoted from League Two but shortly after I was picked up by Everton.

“Everton was a great experience but perhaps it was a little too soon in hindsight.

“I was 17 when I signed for them and moved up there when I was 18 – it was an amazing experience to train with top-class players every day, but a lot of my time there was spent out on loan.

“I was in and around the first-team and managed to make a Premier League appearance against Sunderland, but I just felt like I needed to get out there and get games under my belt in a bid to develop myself as a player.

“It might not have been what I wanted it to be, but it was a learning experience that has stood me in good stead throughout my career.

“I’d just decided it was important at my age to build on the experiences I’d had and move on.

“It’s all part and parcel of the game, though nothing is easy, but it’s all worth it when you make it in the end.”

Jutkiewicz hopes Wanderers could provide him with a stable home after something of a nomadic career since leaving behind young team-mates like Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott at the Southampton academy.

From Plymouth in the South West to the North East and Middlesbrough; from Motherwell in Scotland to Coventry in the Midlands – loan ranger Jutkiewicz is back in the North West on a mission to do his bit for Wanderers.

He added: “Throughout my career, I think I’ve spent time in all four corners of the UK.

“It has been a good thing for me, though – I’ve lived away from home since I was 16, so you have to grow up a little bit and develop yourself.

“When I knew I was going out on loan last month, there were a few other clubs that made enquiries for me.

“But once I’d spoken to the manager here, my mind was made up.

“I felt wanted and valued and he sold the club to me really well.

“I had already played against Bolton when Middlesbrough visited the Reebok on New Year’s Day and from that experience, I knew I was coming into a team that has a lot of quality.

“I just want to help Bolton climb the table.

“Middlesbrough were in a similar position to them at the start of the season but they had a great run and shot up the league.

“It just shows how tight it is and it’s proof that if you string a few results together what a difference it makes and hopefully, I can help Bolton do that this season.”