Bolton Wanderers manager Ian Evatt hopes his side can rediscover their sparkle in tonight’s Bristol Street Motors Trophy clash with Barrow.
The Trotters are aiming for promotion from League One this season but have begun the new campaign poorly. They suffered a shock home defeat against Exeter City on Saturday, extending their winless run to three. It was a performance which Evatt deemed ‘unacceptable’ and was a far cry from their 7-0 victory in the same fixture last season. As a result, they sit 18th in the table and are already six points off leaders Stockport County.
Although their league form has left something to be desired, they have taken solace in cup competitions thus far. Wins over Mansfield Town and Shrewsbury Town in the Carabao Cup have set up a mouthwatering clash with Premier League giants Arsenal in the third round.
Tonight, they kick off their Bristol Street Motors Trophy campaign with a trip to League Two outfit Barrow. However, Evatt will be without a number of first team stars due to the upcoming international break, including the likes of Dion Charles, Eoin Toal and Chris Forino.
Competition rules state that EFL clubs cannot completely change their starting lineup and must retain the services of players who compete regularly in the league. The 42-year-old admits this is challenging but sees the fixture as an ideal opportunity to return to winning ways. Speaking to official club media, he said:
“It’s not ideal timing in terms of the players we don’t have available to us and the fact we have to play a certain number of first-team players to abide by the rules.
“We can’t just play the kids, although there are likely to be a number involved in the squad which could mean opportunities for them.
“That means we have had to try and balance game-time over this run of three games going into the international break to protect some players for the league fixtures we have coming up and the longer-term.
“That’s been challenging but this is still a good opportunity for some players to get some more valuable game-time to further sharpen them up and for us to go out and put in a performance and get a positive result.
“It’s a game we want to win and we need to react and respond in the right way to start a re-set and then make sure we’re all focused on the run of games we’ve got to come after the break.”
Writer’s View
There’s no escaping that it has been a really poor start to the season for Bolton. Whereas the EFL Trophy is often seen as a secondary competition, there’s an argument to say that Ian Evatt really must get something out of tonight’s game. Going in to the international break on the back of another loss would make for an uncomfortable couple of weeks.
Still, it’s the league which is of primary concern and their early season blip is not one to panic about just yet. They return to action with two successive home games before two winnable away fixtures at Crawley Town and Northampton Town. A return of 10 points from those would give them a great platform to build on.
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