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Ian Evatt says he will take a “hands on approach” to changing Wanderers’ fortunes on the training ground.
The Wanderers head coach has had a tricky start to life in the Bolton dugout, 11 weeks since he was confirmed as Keith Hill’s successor.
With no cup action in midweek he has the luxury of some uninterrupted time with his players before Saturday’s game at Colchester United, and a chance to correct some of the issues which have contributed to three successive defeats in league and cup.
Integrating 18 new signings and schooling them in his own style of football has not been an easy task – and Evatt has admitted his own frustration at some of the errors which have crept in over the last few weeks.
He also accepts his own responsibility in getting results on track and says he and assistant Peter Atherton will work hard this week to try and improve Wanderers’ chances.
“From the first team point of view myself and Peter are very hands on, like to be out on the grass and coach,” he said. “I don’t want to be a manager who sits in an office and expects everyone to do my work for me.
“Me and Peter have the same alignment and we work together to make sure that the players are well-coached.
“I want to see everything and part of everything, that way there are no excuses, and it’s on me.
“That is the way I am, and the way I will continue to be.”
Evatt said his players had been left with their “ears ringing” after their EFL Trophy defeat at home to Crewe but is not generally a fan of the old-fashioned hairdryer treatment.
The 38-year-old only hung up his boots two years ago after a playing career which stretched more than two decades and he feels that helps him identify with modern dressing room sensibilities.
“I am a young manager or head coach, whatever you want to call it, and the benefit of that is that I am quite new to coming out of a dressing room,” he said.
“I class myself as having old school values but new methods. I played through a transitional period and when I came into football at Derby at 17 it was under Jim Smith, who was old school and would have a cigar on the go, splatter you against the wall if you got beat on a Saturday.
“The further you move through your career and the world, times change. You cannot talk to people and young players especially the way that I was treated. And that isn’t to say it was a bad thing because it gave me a proper education and I knew where I stood. My standards had to be high.
“Nowadays young people, not just in football but in the world generally, struggle with adversity, struggle with negativity, criticism, so you have to manage them a different way.
“Luckily for me, because I captained pretty much throughout my career, I picked up what got the best out of people – younger and older players. And you can’t treat different players the same way, you have to figure that out pretty quickly.
“Management is the same in any sort of business – what motivates employees? Use it.”
Evatt is keen to instil a winning mentality – even if it comes at the expense of popularity.
“What players will know and learn from me is that when a manager is straight with you, you can accept it,” he said.
“You might not always agree with it but you’ll respect him and you’ll accept it.
“Problems happen when managers go around the houses and make excuses as to why you are not playing, why they have done this, or that.
“No – look a man in the eye and tell him straight what he has done wrong. That way he comes back again, or he’s not for us and I’ll gladly shake his hand on the way out of the door.
“They have to understand that we’re in a results-based business but also that this club, moving forward, is going to be open and honest. Demanding, yes, but when it comes to work on the pitch it’s strictly business. “If we are sat around the training ground, the hotel or the stadium having a cup of tea or coffee we’ll have a laugh and a joke and I’ll be a really good guy.
“But on the grass I want to win. And it’s having that mental switch on that you must have.”
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The Wanderers head coach has had a tricky start to life in the Bolton dugout, 11 weeks since he was confirmed as Keith Hill’s successor.
With no cup action in midweek he has the luxury of some uninterrupted time with his players before Saturday’s game at Colchester United, and a chance to correct some of the issues which have contributed to three successive defeats in league and cup.
Integrating 18 new signings and schooling them in his own style of football has not been an easy task – and Evatt has admitted his own frustration at some of the errors which have crept in over the last few weeks.
He also accepts his own responsibility in getting results on track and says he and assistant Peter Atherton will work hard this week to try and improve Wanderers’ chances.
“From the first team point of view myself and Peter are very hands on, like to be out on the grass and coach,” he said. “I don’t want to be a manager who sits in an office and expects everyone to do my work for me.
“Me and Peter have the same alignment and we work together to make sure that the players are well-coached.
“I want to see everything and part of everything, that way there are no excuses, and it’s on me.
“That is the way I am, and the way I will continue to be.”
Evatt said his players had been left with their “ears ringing” after their EFL Trophy defeat at home to Crewe but is not generally a fan of the old-fashioned hairdryer treatment.
The 38-year-old only hung up his boots two years ago after a playing career which stretched more than two decades and he feels that helps him identify with modern dressing room sensibilities.
“I am a young manager or head coach, whatever you want to call it, and the benefit of that is that I am quite new to coming out of a dressing room,” he said.
“I class myself as having old school values but new methods. I played through a transitional period and when I came into football at Derby at 17 it was under Jim Smith, who was old school and would have a cigar on the go, splatter you against the wall if you got beat on a Saturday.
“The further you move through your career and the world, times change. You cannot talk to people and young players especially the way that I was treated. And that isn’t to say it was a bad thing because it gave me a proper education and I knew where I stood. My standards had to be high.
“Nowadays young people, not just in football but in the world generally, struggle with adversity, struggle with negativity, criticism, so you have to manage them a different way.
“Luckily for me, because I captained pretty much throughout my career, I picked up what got the best out of people – younger and older players. And you can’t treat different players the same way, you have to figure that out pretty quickly.
“Management is the same in any sort of business – what motivates employees? Use it.”
Evatt is keen to instil a winning mentality – even if it comes at the expense of popularity.
“What players will know and learn from me is that when a manager is straight with you, you can accept it,” he said.
“You might not always agree with it but you’ll respect him and you’ll accept it.
“Problems happen when managers go around the houses and make excuses as to why you are not playing, why they have done this, or that.
“No – look a man in the eye and tell him straight what he has done wrong. That way he comes back again, or he’s not for us and I’ll gladly shake his hand on the way out of the door.
“They have to understand that we’re in a results-based business but also that this club, moving forward, is going to be open and honest. Demanding, yes, but when it comes to work on the pitch it’s strictly business. “If we are sat around the training ground, the hotel or the stadium having a cup of tea or coffee we’ll have a laugh and a joke and I’ll be a really good guy.
“But on the grass I want to win. And it’s having that mental switch on that you must have.”
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