IAN Evatt said he was proud of his patched-up Wanderers as they stood up to the test at league leaders Wycombe to claim a pre-Christmas bonus.
Despite missing several players due to suspension and injury, Bolton’s manager named an unfamiliar back three against a team that had outscored everyone in League One this season and never failed to find the back of the net at Adams Park. Despite a late scramble involving Gethin Jones and George Thomason, the 770 fans who traveled 350 miles home happy, and Evatt could reflect on a job well done.
“We defended our box magnificently as a team and kept a clean sheet against a team that scores a lot of goals. I am proud of the players. I asked them to walk off the pitch with their heads high and chests out, and I think we did that tonight.” The away end’s support was unwavering and as vocal as any Bolton have managed.
Evatt felt the backing helped his players hold on to their first clean sheet since Peterborough on October 26, 10 games ago.
“They (the fans) were unbelievable,” he said. “You can see the effect and impact that has on our players. When we are positive and when they back the players like they have done tonight the players really respond to that. And that is why for the first time in a while we have enjoyed those moments with the fans.
“That’s our fault, our problem, I get that, because of the performances and results but when we are together you can see that we have got a brilliant connection.”
Evatt was pleased with his team’s defensive performance against an overwhelming offensive, as they won their fair number of defensive duels.
“I thought the back three were amazing,” he told me. “The way we defended long, direct balls, and set plays, I think they really stood up, which they needed to because this is a squad that asks a lot of questions. I am incredibly proud of the players.
“Before the game we’d spoke long and hard about what type of team we wanted to be and getting back to that type of team, and tonight we did the basics so well and that is something we haven’t done enough.”
Will Forrester led the way for Bolton, winning six aerial duels on the night against one of the division’s most aerially dangerous assaults.
The 23-year-old’s season has been hampered by injury, but Evatt believes his penalty area instincts were ideal for the occasion.
“I would say he’s our best box defender, when it comes down to putting his body on the line, winning those first and second contacts he is so good,” the player’s manager said. “He has had to be patient, of course, but he is a young player we believe in and tonight he showed what he can do.”
Wanderers face Barnsley on Boxing Day and Lincoln City on Sunday, hoping for results that would enable them rise into the top six after a few weeks on the sidelines.
The defeat to Wigan in their previous home game hurt hard, both in the dressing room and on the terraces, but Evatt believes his players demonstrated their grit in Buckinghamshire.
“We have always tried to find a way to respond, this group, always,” he went on. “I recognize that we’ve had too many of those days. But we’ve also had some wonderful days, which we’ve had to discuss with the terrible.
“In times of struggle – and this has been challenging, as I mentioned yesterday – there is always an opportunity to become stronger, and as a group, we must seize it. We need to use it as motivation to realize that we can develop and come back stronger and as a better team. That is where our attention is.”
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