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Ian Evatt wants one final push on the recruitment front to ensure his side is in good shape for the start of the League Two season.
The Whites head coach has already signed 14 new players this summer after inheriting a skeletal squad comprised mainly of up-and-coming academy graduates.
With the first competitive game now less than a fortnight away, the club will be looking to put the finishing touches to a group of new arrivals believed to include a striker and a left-sided midfielder.
Evatt watched his side dismantle League One Accrington Stanley 3-0 on Saturday but added that there will be no let-up in the transfer search.
“We’re not there yet – and I’d like another four in the building, hopefully this week. Then, I think we’ll be ready,” he told The Bolton News.
“There’s no pressure to get them all in. We’re being very specific and we have a valuation on each and every player we speak to. If they don’t share that valuation and want more money we’ll stand our ground, simple as that.
“Hopefully, those last deals will be done this week. If they are not, then we’ll be patient and get the right ones in the building.
“We need them because, as the lads will tell you, we have been working very hard in training and the ones who were later into the group are behind the others, playing catch-up. We do not want that to happen too far into the season.
“We will work and work, all excuses off the table, to make sure we are ready for the start of the season and I couldn’t be more pleased with how it has gone so far.”
Wanderers are now outright favourites to be promoted this season, having previously shared top billing with Salford City.
Evatt has absolutely no qualms with being the team to beat.
“We should be,” he said. “It’s a magnificent football club – we have the fanbase, the facilities, the history. Of course we should be favourites to go up. Let’s embrace it. Let’s be the best.
“We want to win every single game. The season will fly by because of how condensed it is.
“It will be Saturday-Tuesday for the majority so we will need some luck with injuries, there’s no doubt about that.
“But I think we’re in a good place at the moment.”
Wanderers have had a near faultless pre-season and secured a fourth successive win against Stanley thanks to Nathan Delfouneso’s early goal, Eoin Doyle’s penalty and another spot kick converted by a trialist.
But the course of victory was not without some faults – and some of the work in possession at the back still requires some work.
“It’s another good result,” reasoned Evatt. “I was really pleased the first 65-70 minutes where we completely dominated. I think we got a bit tired the last 20 minutes but we’d worked very hard in the last week and when you start to make changes the game starts to become disjointed.
“I told the players we have to recognise and make better match decisions. It’s just game intelligence.
“They had good spells of possession in the first half and so the opposition are bound to change second half and throw a different look at you. It’s how quickly we pick that up and where the space is.
“If they are going on a high press and the space isn’t to play out from the back then there must be some one v one situations higher up the pitch. If we suss that, they soon drop off and we can earn the right to play again.
“Just those decisions we need to tighten up on but in general I’m really pleased.”
Some of the Accrington challenges in the second half – particularly on Antoni Sarcevic and Tom White – were decidedly ‘unfriendly’.
Evatt has warned his players, though, that they may need to keep emotions in check at times this season against more physical opponents.
“It is part of the game and it normally means you are playing well,” he said. “If you have a lot of the ball then the opposition are going to get the hump, they are going to want to kick you, and that’s exactly what happened with Accrington. I was really pleased with our discipline.”
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The Whites head coach has already signed 14 new players this summer after inheriting a skeletal squad comprised mainly of up-and-coming academy graduates.
With the first competitive game now less than a fortnight away, the club will be looking to put the finishing touches to a group of new arrivals believed to include a striker and a left-sided midfielder.
Evatt watched his side dismantle League One Accrington Stanley 3-0 on Saturday but added that there will be no let-up in the transfer search.
“We’re not there yet – and I’d like another four in the building, hopefully this week. Then, I think we’ll be ready,” he told The Bolton News.
“There’s no pressure to get them all in. We’re being very specific and we have a valuation on each and every player we speak to. If they don’t share that valuation and want more money we’ll stand our ground, simple as that.
“Hopefully, those last deals will be done this week. If they are not, then we’ll be patient and get the right ones in the building.
“We need them because, as the lads will tell you, we have been working very hard in training and the ones who were later into the group are behind the others, playing catch-up. We do not want that to happen too far into the season.
“We will work and work, all excuses off the table, to make sure we are ready for the start of the season and I couldn’t be more pleased with how it has gone so far.”
Wanderers are now outright favourites to be promoted this season, having previously shared top billing with Salford City.
Evatt has absolutely no qualms with being the team to beat.
“We should be,” he said. “It’s a magnificent football club – we have the fanbase, the facilities, the history. Of course we should be favourites to go up. Let’s embrace it. Let’s be the best.
“We want to win every single game. The season will fly by because of how condensed it is.
“It will be Saturday-Tuesday for the majority so we will need some luck with injuries, there’s no doubt about that.
“But I think we’re in a good place at the moment.”
Wanderers have had a near faultless pre-season and secured a fourth successive win against Stanley thanks to Nathan Delfouneso’s early goal, Eoin Doyle’s penalty and another spot kick converted by a trialist.
But the course of victory was not without some faults – and some of the work in possession at the back still requires some work.
“It’s another good result,” reasoned Evatt. “I was really pleased the first 65-70 minutes where we completely dominated. I think we got a bit tired the last 20 minutes but we’d worked very hard in the last week and when you start to make changes the game starts to become disjointed.
“I told the players we have to recognise and make better match decisions. It’s just game intelligence.
“They had good spells of possession in the first half and so the opposition are bound to change second half and throw a different look at you. It’s how quickly we pick that up and where the space is.
“If they are going on a high press and the space isn’t to play out from the back then there must be some one v one situations higher up the pitch. If we suss that, they soon drop off and we can earn the right to play again.
“Just those decisions we need to tighten up on but in general I’m really pleased.”
Some of the Accrington challenges in the second half – particularly on Antoni Sarcevic and Tom White – were decidedly ‘unfriendly’.
Evatt has warned his players, though, that they may need to keep emotions in check at times this season against more physical opponents.
“It is part of the game and it normally means you are playing well,” he said. “If you have a lot of the ball then the opposition are going to get the hump, they are going to want to kick you, and that’s exactly what happened with Accrington. I was really pleased with our discipline.”
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