The former Premier League outfit Bolton Wanderers has been placed into administration, the club announced today.

The club is one of the founding members of the English Football League and is the first to go into administration for six years after appointing joint administrators Paul Appleton and Asher Miller of David Rubin & Partners.

The recently-relegated Championship side appeared in the High Court last Wednesday over an unpaid £1.2 million unpaid tax bill and were given two weeks to appoint an administrator.

The club will now start their League One campaign next season on minus 12 points as punishment.

They are due back in court on May 22 and state on their official website that this latest move "will ensure the continued existence of the club".

Bolton Supporters' Trust will have chance to bid

In an official statement released on Monday afternoon, Paul Appleton said: "This has obviously been a long-running situation and it is vitally important that we quickly establish the position of both the football club and the holding company.

"It has got to the stage where the Trust could not sit back and allow the club to go into liquidation. Decisive action had to be taken and the Trust believes the decision is in the best interests of Bolton Wanderers.

"Everybody at the club as well as the supporters need a sense of clarity and that is what I will be seeking to provide as quickly as possible."

Club owner Ken Anderson is continuing to try and sell the club which still owed its players wages at the end of April.

That led to the postponement of their Championship match against Brentford after the players refused to play in protest and it was not the first time they were left waiting for their salary to be paid.

EFL rules state that the Bolton Wanderers Supporters' Trust must be included in the discussions and offered a reasonable chance to bid for the club.

Aldershot Town was the last Football League club to go into administration, in 2013.