The striker is on loan from City and has caught the eye in the early weeks of the new season
Mason Burstow admits coming to Bolton Wanderers that he knew how big his season was going to be, and how many points he had to prove to the doubters.
Burstow joined the Trotters on loan from Hull City in the summer and has hit the ground running with his brace in the win over Peterborough United on Saturday taking his tally to seven.
The City striker, who arrived at the MKM Stadium for £2m from Chelsea last summer, struggled to make an impact in East Yorkshire under three different permanent managers.
Current Tigers head coach Sergej Jakirovic remains a fan of Burstow, but with the arrival of Oli McBurnie and Enis Destan, felt his first team opportunities to play in his preferred number nine role would be limited and wanted him to get out and play.
Trotters’ chief Steven Schumacher was the one who convinced the 21-year-old to help fire the goals to help Wanderers secure promotion back to the Championship, and so far, his campaign had started well.
“When you are in a good run of form, things like that do tend to turn into gold,” Burstow told the Bolton News. “Things have been going well for me at Bolton, but I don’t take them for granted. I have high standards, and I put pressure on myself to perform, so this is where I want to be, and it’s up to me to try and continue that now.
“I knew for myself, personally, it was a big season,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of points to prove, and I started on the right track, but I knew as a squad and as a team, we needed to get back to the Championship. It’s a massive club, and for the goals they have, they align with mine.
“It is a perfect fit. There has been criticism in previous seasons, and some of the seasons haven’t gone how I’d like them to go. So, I think just putting that extra bit of pressure on myself as well to perform is helpful.
“I always set my standards high, and I know I might not be perfect every time, but I’ll do my best to get close to that,” he said. “As I’ve said previously, I want to play as a nine, I want to play as many minutes as I can, and Bolton are giving me that opportunity. That’s really important to me.
“I’m really enjoying it. Obviously, I feel like I’m back to routine, so to speak. I have played out of position in previous seasons, and it’s something I wanted to do and get back to my best. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t play other positions if the gaffer needed me to play as a No.10 or slightly wider, then I will do. But number nine is where I see myself.”
Burstow has caught the eye so far, but he’s also got ex-City loanee Marcus Forss and Thierry Gale for competition, but says he’s relishing that challenge.
“Looking around the quality in the squad, it is a bit of a relief knowing that it doesn’t have to be you,” he continued. “We can get a goal from Marcus or Thierry or whatnot and create that way. It’s a nice feeling.
“I’ve had my opportunity and I’ve taken chances and stuff, but it’s about continuing to do that because I know that our team is strong enough for someone else to step in. There’s a bit of pressure, but it’s good competition and it’s healthy competition.
“It’s very unlikely that a forward will play the 46 games in the season or, including cup competitions, 50 plus games. It’s important that you have players who can step in and keep up that quality.”
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