Bolton Wanderers manager Ian Evatt says he is not taking anything for granted following the public backing from chairman Sharon Brittan earlier this week.
The 43-year-old has been under pressure from aspects of the Bolton support after enduring an inconsistent first half of the season. After suffering heartbreak in the League One play-off final against Oxford United in May, the Trotters started the new season in dreadful fashion, winning one of their opening five matches.
The last few months have been better, and they have dragged themselves back into play-off contention. However, a 2-0 defeat against rivals Wigan Athletic left them eighth, one point behind sixth-placed Reading. The upcoming festive schedule could be pivotal though, with games against teams also challenging for promotion. They travel to league leaders Wycombe tonight before two home games against Barnsley and Lincoln City.
Evatt Not Resting On His Laurels
Earlier this week, Brittan released a statement confirming her backing of the manager, saying:
“As Chairman of Bolton Wanderers, I would also like to take this moment to reaffirm my loyal support – and that of the entire club – for our manager, Ian Evatt, his staff and the players, and to highlight the strength of the journey we are all on together.”
Ahead of tonight’s clash with Wycombe, Evatt addressed the statement, saying he won’t take the words for granted. Speaking to official club media, he said:
“We’ve had really clear and open dialogue this week with the Board and with the players everyone is clear about where we stand and how much we support each other.
“We don’t take that for granted, we know we have to win football matches and things can change all the time but it’s great we’ve got each other’s support and we want to do it for each other and that’s what should be motivating us.”
Writer’s View
Bolton are a club that feel they should be playing in the Championship, if not the Premier League, so it is understandable that the supporters are getting itchy feet. It will have been six years since they were in the second tier by the end of this season, so this really feel like make or break for Ian Evatt. Brittan is right to stick by her man at this stage. They are a club that will likely achieve a play-off place, but another failure could see the situation readdressed.
