Bolton Wanderers manager Ian Evatt is focused on improving his side’s fortunes by the next international break, as reported on The Bolton News.
Wanderers head into today’s lunchtime fixture at Crawley Town on the back of an impressive victory at home to Reading in their last league fixture but did suffer a heavy defeat at Premier League title chasers Arsenal on Wednesday.
Bolton find themselves 19th in League One after an inconsistent start to the campaign. Last season’s playoff finalists have just seven points from their opening six matches.
Evatt’s side has been unable to achieve back-to-back victories and the former Barrow boss had started to come under pressure due to the expectations at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.
However, the 42-year-old believes the Reading victory has provided ‘calmer waters’ to work in and sees the three games over the next ten days as an opportunity to reduce the gap to those at the top of the table.
He told the Bolton News, “My focus is on going through these games and getting to where we want to be, the league is tight and you can move up quickly if you can put a run together,”
Following the 5-2 win against the Royals, the manager has called for a calm approach to the next set of fixtures, “When you win a game like we did against Reading it doesn’t mean ‘we’re back’ and playing the best football we have ever played.”
“We have to find a way of staying grounded and consistent, understanding what it takes to get results in this league, and it is challenging to do that.”
The Wanderers’ next three fixtures begin away at Broadfield Stadium today which is followed by a trip to Northampton Town on Tuesday before welcoming struggling Shrewsbury Town to the Toughsheet a week today.
Evatt was keen to remind supporters of the success the club has had during his tenure, “I think we have been extremely fortunate as a football club since then. Everyone can look at the things we haven’t done but sometimes it is important to mention some of the things we have done.”
“The game on Wednesday night wasn’t a great result but it was a great experience for everyone. We have been to Wembley in back-to-back years, how many clubs haven’t had that opportunity?”
“We have had a promotion. There have been things to like, and in football it’s always a wild ride. Things change quickly and we have a chance to change things to a positive light in the next few games.”
“If we can go on a run, then in 10 days things will feel very different.”
Writer’s View
Bolton Wanderers undoubtedly come under the ‘big club for this division’ heading and will always be looking to challenge at the top of the division.
They haven’t had the best of starts to the campaign but have an opportunity before the next international break to make some serious inroads into the top half of the table.
Last season was a fantastic, and probably their best chance, of getting out of the division when they faced Oxford United at Wembley.
The division is once again overloaded with teams who believe they should be plying their trade in the third tier and have the money to spend in their promotion attempt.
Teams like Birmingham City, Wrexham and Huddersfield Town being in the league has drastically increased the difficulty of getting out of the league. If Bolton can achieve a playoff spot, it will be a successful season.
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