Bolton Wanderers head coach Ian Evatt has admitted that his ultimate goal in charge at the Toughsheet Community Stadium is helping the club to return to the Premier League.
The Trotters were promoted to the English top flight for the second time in 2001 under the manager at the time, Sam Allardyce. Bolton managed to stay in the promised land for 11 consecutive seasons before eventually being relegated at the end of the 2011/12 season during Owen Coyle’s stint in charge.
Unfortunately, the Wanderers have never managed to return to the Premier League and even dropped as low as League Two upon relegation from England’s third tier in the 2019/20 season due to a points-per-game calculation method following the breakout of COVID-19.
That campaign was a difficult one for Bolton Wanderers as the historic club entered administration at the same time that Bury were expelled from the EFL. Nevertheless, the team made it through and started fresh the following season with a new man in the dugout – Evatt.
The former Blackpool and Queens Park Rangers defender guided Bolton to promotion back to League One at the first time of asking, playing some silky football in the meantime. This season, still in the same division, Evatt’s men sit third, seven points behind leaders Portsmouth but with three games in hand.
🎯 It would be rude not to watch it back one more time…#bwfc pic.twitter.com/ztrVGOpZ11
— Bolton Wanderers (@OfficialBWFC) February 16, 2024
Speaking in a recent interview with the EFL Podcast, Evatt revealed that his ultimate goal is to guide the club back to the Premier League, although he admitted that this could take quite a long time [quotes via Bolton News]:
“Getting promoted in my first season, stabilising and winning the EFL Trophy last season, getting to the playoffs and now having a real opportunity.
“It has been an incredible journey but we feel genuinely like we are just starting. There has been a lot of work behind the scenes on re-building the foundations to enable us to have sustained success,” he continued.
“That is our aim and goal, we want to get back to the Premier League, but to be able to achieve that goal takes time and a process. We are part of the way along that journey right now.”
Writer’s View
The job Evatt has done has been extraordinary at Bolton Wanderers. The club were on the brink of extinction four years ago and now look likely to return to the Championship by next season, playing an exciting brand of football.
Returning to the Premier League is the ultimate goal for many clubs in the EFL but seems attainable for the Trotters as the side have a big fanbase, a rich history, and play some of the best football in the EFL, spearheaded by a highly-talented coach.
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