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Ian Evatt expects to bring more new faces to Wanderers this week as his pre-season plans step up another gear.
Fleetwood’s highly-rated young ‘keeper Billy Crellin has been strongly linked with a season-long loan deal and the Whites head coach says he is also ready to make offers to some of the trialists who have trained at Lostock over the last fortnight. Wanderers ran out 3-0 winners in a practice match at Atherton Colls on Saturday to give Evatt a winning start to life in the dugout.
And with two signings close to being announced, and others on the way, it could be the busiest week yet for the Bolton boss.
“There are one or two of them who have really impressed in the first two weeks and I’m hoping they’ll be done quickly,” he said of the trialists used at Colls.
“One or two others we’re already quite far down the line, so hopefully that goes all the way.
“I think the players we bring in will improve us and it’s exciting. I hope this has given a little flavour of what’s to come.
“We dominated possession, moved the ball, and now it’s just getting the players to understand why we’re moving it, why we’re running where we are, why we have to be as fit as we are, when we have to keep the ball and move the opposition around, and when we have to move quickly and try to score on the counter.
“That decision-making isn’t quite there yet but it will come with training.”
Although the Colls game was not an official friendly, fixtures are now being put in place for the next six weeks before the planned September 12 start in League Two.
“We probably need another five or six games because the way we’re playing is completely new to everybody,” Evatt told The Bolton News.
“It’s a new group so we have to educate everyone and give them enough time to get accustomed to things without absolutely killing them.
“I’d think there would be one or two midweek games, more for the younger players who may go out on loan, eventually.
“But for now we’re continuing to sign players, have negotiations with those we want to sign, and hopefully we’ll have a few more in the building by the end of the week.”
Evatt also says it is likely he will send out some of his younger players to gain first-team experience elsewhere in the coming weeks.
With no Under-23s this season the head coach wants to avoid players stagnating in the first-team squad but he is yet to make up his mind on who may leave.
“It’s a blank canvas, so players have to go out there and impress me,” he said.
“What they have been doing has been great and what we’re building, putting those blocks in place, it’s all match-specific what we are doing every day in training.
“We don’t do anything for the sake of doing it, or off the cuff, it’s all geared towards what I want from them on a Saturday. And they are learning all the time.
“Come the start of the season with the impending salary caps we can only probably carry 21 or 22 players, so inevitably there will be some who go out and get their first-team football elsewhere.
“But that definitely doesn’t mean they are no longer in my plans now, or in the future, it’s just important for young lads to go out there and get some experience, not just training all the time.
“They need to go out and get used to men’s football and what it means to win on a Saturday.”
Wanderers currently have 18 professional contracts on the books including Harry Brockbank, Liam Edwards, Sonny Graham and Callum King-Harmes, who were not used in the squad at Atherton.
Adam Senior came on as a late substitute while Matt Alexander, Muhammadu Faal and George Thomason all played 45 minutes each.
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Fleetwood’s highly-rated young ‘keeper Billy Crellin has been strongly linked with a season-long loan deal and the Whites head coach says he is also ready to make offers to some of the trialists who have trained at Lostock over the last fortnight. Wanderers ran out 3-0 winners in a practice match at Atherton Colls on Saturday to give Evatt a winning start to life in the dugout.
And with two signings close to being announced, and others on the way, it could be the busiest week yet for the Bolton boss.
“There are one or two of them who have really impressed in the first two weeks and I’m hoping they’ll be done quickly,” he said of the trialists used at Colls.
“One or two others we’re already quite far down the line, so hopefully that goes all the way.
“I think the players we bring in will improve us and it’s exciting. I hope this has given a little flavour of what’s to come.
“We dominated possession, moved the ball, and now it’s just getting the players to understand why we’re moving it, why we’re running where we are, why we have to be as fit as we are, when we have to keep the ball and move the opposition around, and when we have to move quickly and try to score on the counter.
“That decision-making isn’t quite there yet but it will come with training.”
Although the Colls game was not an official friendly, fixtures are now being put in place for the next six weeks before the planned September 12 start in League Two.
“We probably need another five or six games because the way we’re playing is completely new to everybody,” Evatt told The Bolton News.
“It’s a new group so we have to educate everyone and give them enough time to get accustomed to things without absolutely killing them.
“I’d think there would be one or two midweek games, more for the younger players who may go out on loan, eventually.
“But for now we’re continuing to sign players, have negotiations with those we want to sign, and hopefully we’ll have a few more in the building by the end of the week.”
Evatt also says it is likely he will send out some of his younger players to gain first-team experience elsewhere in the coming weeks.
With no Under-23s this season the head coach wants to avoid players stagnating in the first-team squad but he is yet to make up his mind on who may leave.
“It’s a blank canvas, so players have to go out there and impress me,” he said.
“What they have been doing has been great and what we’re building, putting those blocks in place, it’s all match-specific what we are doing every day in training.
“We don’t do anything for the sake of doing it, or off the cuff, it’s all geared towards what I want from them on a Saturday. And they are learning all the time.
“Come the start of the season with the impending salary caps we can only probably carry 21 or 22 players, so inevitably there will be some who go out and get their first-team football elsewhere.
“But that definitely doesn’t mean they are no longer in my plans now, or in the future, it’s just important for young lads to go out there and get some experience, not just training all the time.
“They need to go out and get used to men’s football and what it means to win on a Saturday.”
Wanderers currently have 18 professional contracts on the books including Harry Brockbank, Liam Edwards, Sonny Graham and Callum King-Harmes, who were not used in the squad at Atherton.
Adam Senior came on as a late substitute while Matt Alexander, Muhammadu Faal and George Thomason all played 45 minutes each.
Source