Bolton Wanderers boss Ian Evatt wants his players to be fully focused on Saturday’s FA Cup matchup with Harrogate Town rather than games further down the line, in an interview with The Bolton News.
Evatt’s side are currently top of the League One table, but take part in two cup competitions before resuming their league campaign. They’ll go into the matchup with Harrogate with plenty of confidence following a nine match unbeaten run in all completions, but the manager has asked for his players to focus on the task at hand and take each game as it comes.
This is partly due to Bolton’s top of the table clash with Portsmouth on the 11th of December, a match which could significantly alter the League One standings. That game will be in front of the TV cameras and is arguably Bolton’s toughest task to date, however they do still have two games to play before travelling to Fratton Park.
After Saturday’s match with Harrogate, Evatt’s men will then welcome fellow third tier side Port Vale to the Macron Stadium in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy. Bolton are current holders of the trophy having beaten Plymouth Argyle 4-0 in last season’s final and the manager is looking for more success in the competition.
By no means will we see two completely different squads in their fixtures with Harrogate and Port Vale, but changes are expected. Nonetheless Bolton certainly have the depth in the squad where some players can be rested and that is likely in at least one of the cup competitions ahead of their match with Portsmouth.
However Evatt isn’t looking that far ahead and wants to take each game as it comes, speaking to The Bolton News, the manager said:
“Portsmouth isn’t there yet, our full focus is on Harrogate,”
“That is the respect we are giving them, and they full deserve that respect.
“Our full focus is on Saturday. We have to be like that, it has to be full tilt, laser focus. We’re not good enough to be able to take our foot off the gas, and that is the message we have given to the players. It is the line of confidence and complacency – we have to be on the right side.
Complacency is no stranger in the FA Cup and we often see some upsets as a result, Evatt does not seem to want to be in that position though, and wants to give supporters a cup run.
“We always remember that this game is nothing without the supporters, so hopefully we can give them a cup run, a big day out in the third round maybe, somewhere they can go and be proud of the club again.
“First of all, though, we need to make sure that our performance levels are spot on against Harrogate because we let that drop, we open up the door for them to get a result.
“I was pleased to get my first FA Cup win this season but now I’d really like to double the tally.”
Writer’s View
Evatt has summed it up perfectly through his words on complacency. Although the end goal for the club this season would be promotion they’d still like to progress further in the cup competitions to help boost the finances.
The Portsmouth game is a big one and no doubt in the back of the players’ minds already. If able to progress through the next round of both the FA Cup and the Bristol Street Motors Trophy, then we’ll likely see a side brimming with confidence for their clash with Portsmouth. However losing one or both cup ties could be detrimental to the players confidence and Evatt will need to get his selections spot on to keep both the unbeaten run as well as confidence up.
Senior Editor
