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Gethin Jones says Bolton Wanderers’ tough pre-season under Ian Evatt has only reinforced the sole aim for the season – promotion.
The Whites’ 3-0 reverse against Crewe at the UniBol on Friday night means they have finished the build-up to the new campaign with back-to-back defeats.
Evatt’s first competitive game in charge comes against Bradford in the Carabao Cup on Saturday with the EFL Trophy opener against the Alex also coming before League Two begins at home to Forest Green on September 12.
Jones is one of 15 new faces this summer and while he warns it might take time for things to click in to top gear, the former Carlisle man remains clear on the ambitions of all at Bolton for 2020/21.
“The manager wouldn’t have brought us in if he didn’t think we were capable of getting out of this division,” he told The Bolton News.
“That’s the main objective for us this season. We’ve got to come in every day and aim for that.
“The last six weeks of pre-season have been hard but very enjoyable.
“We are working hard on the training ground on how we want to play.
“The starting 11 on Friday except for Ali Crawford had never played for Bolton Wanderers before, but it was new to Ali too because he hadn’t played this formation before.”
After losing out to Crewe and Wigan, Jones insists friendlies or not, results do matter, and Wanderers are keen to get back in the winner’s circle when the Bantams come to town.
“The more we work in training together and the more games we play, we will improve,” he said.
“We were disappointed on Friday and we were disappointed against Wigan.
“They are only pre-season games but they are games we want to win. With the mentality that we’ve got we are determined to win every game.
“We’ve got a really strong squad with the players the gaffer has brought in. It’s a brand new squad and lot of the players came out of this league last year.
“We’ve brought really experienced players in. We will work hard and gel more as every day goes on in training.”
The former Everton youngster believes the Crewe defeat gave the Whites plenty of pointers in where they need to improve as they fine tune the expansive style of play that brought Evatt success at Barrow.
“We are going to be a very attacking team this season so we just need to be prepared so that when we do lose the ball in attacking situations we need to close teams at the back,” Jones said.
“We’re a brand new squad and a lot of lads haven’t played this way before.
“That Crewe squad has been together for two or three years so the way they move the ball about, they are a top side at doing that. They came out of League Two last season doing what they did best.
“We dealt with what they are good at for most of the game.
“In the first half everything we have worked on in pre-season, the way we want to play and attack teams and keep the ball, we did really well.”
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The Whites’ 3-0 reverse against Crewe at the UniBol on Friday night means they have finished the build-up to the new campaign with back-to-back defeats.
Evatt’s first competitive game in charge comes against Bradford in the Carabao Cup on Saturday with the EFL Trophy opener against the Alex also coming before League Two begins at home to Forest Green on September 12.
Jones is one of 15 new faces this summer and while he warns it might take time for things to click in to top gear, the former Carlisle man remains clear on the ambitions of all at Bolton for 2020/21.
“The manager wouldn’t have brought us in if he didn’t think we were capable of getting out of this division,” he told The Bolton News.
“That’s the main objective for us this season. We’ve got to come in every day and aim for that.
“The last six weeks of pre-season have been hard but very enjoyable.
“We are working hard on the training ground on how we want to play.
“The starting 11 on Friday except for Ali Crawford had never played for Bolton Wanderers before, but it was new to Ali too because he hadn’t played this formation before.”
After losing out to Crewe and Wigan, Jones insists friendlies or not, results do matter, and Wanderers are keen to get back in the winner’s circle when the Bantams come to town.
“The more we work in training together and the more games we play, we will improve,” he said.
“We were disappointed on Friday and we were disappointed against Wigan.
“They are only pre-season games but they are games we want to win. With the mentality that we’ve got we are determined to win every game.
“We’ve got a really strong squad with the players the gaffer has brought in. It’s a brand new squad and lot of the players came out of this league last year.
“We’ve brought really experienced players in. We will work hard and gel more as every day goes on in training.”
The former Everton youngster believes the Crewe defeat gave the Whites plenty of pointers in where they need to improve as they fine tune the expansive style of play that brought Evatt success at Barrow.
“We are going to be a very attacking team this season so we just need to be prepared so that when we do lose the ball in attacking situations we need to close teams at the back,” Jones said.
“We’re a brand new squad and a lot of lads haven’t played this way before.
“That Crewe squad has been together for two or three years so the way they move the ball about, they are a top side at doing that. They came out of League Two last season doing what they did best.
“We dealt with what they are good at for most of the game.
“In the first half everything we have worked on in pre-season, the way we want to play and attack teams and keep the ball, we did really well.”
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