Bolton Manager Evatt Expresses Satisfaction with Team’s Quiet Rise

Ian Evatt, manager of Bolton Wanderers, has expressed satisfaction with his team’s quiet but steady climb in the League One standings, which has brought them back into contention for promotion. This season, Evatt’s leadership has resulted in nine victories out of 17 League One matches. The 43-year-old manager faced scrutiny when Bolton entered the relegation zone in mid-September; however, he maintained that the club’s board supported him during that period. Subsequently, Evatt has guided Wanderers to 10 wins in 17 matches across all competitions, leading to their rise to seventh position in the table, narrowly missing the play-off spots. Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester, Evatt remarked, “Our focus is on performing well, playing with the right attitude and hopefully that will get us the points.” He added, “In terms of the league campaign we’ve been progressing. We’ve picked up a lot of points and we’re still flying under the radar which I am absolutely fine about – we just need to keep going about our business, keep our heads down.” On Saturday, Bolton is scheduled to host local rivals Wigan Athletic, against whom they possess a historically unfavorable record. Wanderers have not secured a victory against Wigan for nearly a decade, having suffered 4-0 defeats in their last two home encounters. Furthermore, a 1-0 away loss last season impeded their pursuit of automatic promotion. Evatt, whose team was defeated by Oxford in last season’s play-off final, conceded, “We’ve been disappointed in these games.” He continued, “We can’t sugar coat it, we’ve got to do better and be better. Saturday gives us an opportunity to do that and football is about opportunity.” He concluded, “We’ve got another chance to start turning that record against them around but also in these big games, which we are focussed on doing.”