Bolton Wanderers manager Ian Evatt was full of praise after his side’s 2-0 victory against relegation-stragglers Fleetwood Town.
The result was made all the sweeter with the news of Portsmouth drawing with 20th-placed Exeter City. As a result, the Wanderers are now just two points off of the top, and are in far better form than that of Pompey.
Despite losing at Fratton Park in front of the TV cameras and then being handed a shock defeat at the hands of Bristol Rovers earlier in the month, Evatt’s side have responded incredibly well.
Not much more could be asked of the players after the win against Fleetwood, which meant that Bolton had won all three of their games over the congested Christmas period, also beating Leyton Orient and Lincoln City during that time.
As for Portsmouth, they have picked up a measly two points from those three matches and Evatt’s side are certainly applying some pressure. The results on Friday night means that Bolton are just two points off of the top, and more importantly have a game in hand over both Portsmouth in 1st and Peterborough in 3rd.
In what was a dominant performance against Fleetwood, momentum is very much expected to be carried into their New Year’s Day clash with Burton Albion. Although the Brewers have been in better form recently, Bolton will go into the matchup as overwhelming favourites.
Manager Ian Evatt was rightly delighted with his team’s performance and they seem to be finding their best form once again after a slight blip.
Speaking to club media after the victory, Evatt said:
“That was a proper performance. I’m so pleased with that.
“That was the best victory of the season in the circumstances. The weather, the storm, the pitch, was all against us really but I I thought we were so professional.
“As an away performance goes that’s a proper performance and that’s us improving on the past. That’s how we can judge ourselves, on how far we’ve come. We can look at other games where we’ve been here before in similar conditions and lost heavily. We’ve evolved and improved and I still think there’s a lot more to come.”
“We cannot think we’ve cracked it, we cannot think we’ve done it. This league is tough, it’s unforgiving. People drop points left right and centre. We have dropped points as well when we shouldn’t have and had some poor performances. We just need to focus on the next game and the next opportunity and that’s Monday.
Writer’s View
Having beaten Bolton 2-0 earlier in the month, it looked as if Portsmouth could become runaway leaders, however Evatt’s side have responded incredibly well in recent weeks. Being in far better form than their main competitors currently could see the the club go top on New Year’s Day.
2023 was a great year for Bolton, winning the EFL Trophy as well as making the League One play-offs, however 2024 has the potential to be even better given the current squad with a potential title fight on their hands.
Senior Editor
