finishing 18th in the 2009–10 Premier League and accumulated just 30 points. Nevertheless, Mears was awarded South West Clarets Player of the season, Accrington Clarets Player of the season and Earby Clarets Player of the season. Following relegation, Mears began looking for a move away from Turf Moor due to his desire to remain in the top flight. Despite this, Mears stayed at the club throughout the summer and despite the club's good start to the 2010–11 season, Mears was suspended twice after picking up a yellow card against Nottingham Forest in the opening game of the season and another, which saw him earned a second yellow card, in a 1–0 loss against Swansea City on 28 August 2010. Despite the suspension, Mears continued to be in the regular first team at Burnley and scored his first goal for Burnley in a 2–1 win over his former club Derby County on 27 November 2010. In a match against Port Vale in the third round of FA Cup, Mears scored his second goal of the season and setting up one of the goals, in a 4–2 win. He went on to finish the 2010–11 season, making 49 appearances (44 in the league) and scoring two times in all competitions. Bolton Wanderers On 29 July 2011, Mears, along with Burnley teammate Chris Eagles, joined Bolton Wanderers on a three-year contract for a joint fee in the region of £3 million. However, on 4 August he broke his leg in a training session. Manager Owen Coyle later said he expected Mears to be absent for a minimum of five months. On 24 January 2012, Mears played his first full ninety minutes since his injury in the Reserve team's 1–0 defeat to Sunderland Reserves, he was an unused substitute in Bolton's 2–1 FA Cup win over Swansea City on 28 January. He made his full debut for the club when being named in the starting line up for the game at Norwich City on 4 February, which Bolton eventually lost 2–0. However, following the game Mears complained about a pain in the leg that had been broken the previous August and, after a screw was removed from the leg, manager Owen Coyle said he expected Mears to be out of action until late March. Afterwards, Mears didn't make another appearance for the rest of the season. In the 2012–13 season, Mears played his first