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Aftershocks from last Saturday’s defeat at home to Newport County were felt well into the week at Wanderers.
Tempers had flared in the dressing room after the game, and by his own admission Ian Evatt “lost his rag” for the first time since taking on the job.
Egos were bruised, maybe more, but the net result of a frank and no-holds-barred confrontation with his players has left the Bolton boss more confident than ever that things will soon be on the right path again.
Evatt can bring skipper Antoni Sarcevic back into the squad heading to Harrogate, or rather Doncaster, which is where the newly-promoted side are currently calling home.
And he does so in the faith his side might have turned a corner with their reaction to a third straight league defeat.
“We are all hurt after Saturday, we have all been hurting over the weekend,” he told The Bolton News.
“A lot was said after the game and more was on Monday morning. And for the first time I have seen some anger, some reactions where they are falling out with each other, kicking each other in training like they are playing angry and want to win.
“We all care. We are all trying our hardest to get us on the right path and get the right results. But I have to have faith we are on that right path and that the work we’re doing on the training ground is leading us somewhere. It’s improving but we have to put it together on a Saturday and we haven’t done that so far.
“It’s the start of a big month, some winnable games, and we’ll be attacking every single one of them.
“By the end of October the world could seem a very different place.
“For now, we have to focus on Saturday against Harrogate and give it everything we have got.”
Wanderers have eight games this month in all competitions, with 21 league points at stake.
At the end of it, two major litmus tests for their promotion ambitions come at the start of November against fancied Mansfield Town and Salford City.
The club’s high expectations going into the season have intensified the criticism which has followed five competitive defeats. It is not going according to script for Evatt and his team – but he remains adamant that patience will pay off.
“The most important thing, for me, is where I am mentally and the belief in the dressing room,” he said. “We have been consistently inconsistent, and I accept the results haven’t been right.
“But we have stayed positive on the training ground, the positive messages have been reinforced on the training ground. That hasn’t changed.
“The quality has been there but for the first real time I have seen players willing to fall out with each other, holding each other accountable. We have to be able to play angry if we’re going to get results. I want them to be like that.
“When you have got a new group, sometimes you want to make friends rather than lose them. I don’t think football works like that, though, it’s about winning. If you do that you get respect from your team-mates and those relationships will grow. But, for now, we need to progress and right a few wrongs.
“We haven’t started well but October can be a big month for us.”
Personally, the poor start has also come as a shock to Evatt’s system.
The former Barrow boss had his stock pushed sky high by his achievements in the National League last season, coupled with a style of football which drew praise from all directions.
Correcting Wanderers’ course represents a significant challenge for the 38-year-old and though he too wore a pained expression of defeat last weekend, he is dealing with it the best way he knows how.
“I live and breathe football and my family will tell you I don’t switch off,” he said.
“I’m forever looking at things we can do to improve, things we have done wrong.
“Self-analysis is a huge thing in football. You have to be able to stare at yourself in the mirror and ask if you can do more. What is working, what is not working? I do it every day.
“Saturday was the first time I really lost my rag and I saw that in the players as well.
“There are one or two things we have to put right. I don’t want to go into too much detail on what they are because it’s only on a Saturday where they will be judged.
“We have to find a way of stopping the rot.”
Source
Tempers had flared in the dressing room after the game, and by his own admission Ian Evatt “lost his rag” for the first time since taking on the job.
Egos were bruised, maybe more, but the net result of a frank and no-holds-barred confrontation with his players has left the Bolton boss more confident than ever that things will soon be on the right path again.
Evatt can bring skipper Antoni Sarcevic back into the squad heading to Harrogate, or rather Doncaster, which is where the newly-promoted side are currently calling home.
And he does so in the faith his side might have turned a corner with their reaction to a third straight league defeat.
“We are all hurt after Saturday, we have all been hurting over the weekend,” he told The Bolton News.
“A lot was said after the game and more was on Monday morning. And for the first time I have seen some anger, some reactions where they are falling out with each other, kicking each other in training like they are playing angry and want to win.
“We all care. We are all trying our hardest to get us on the right path and get the right results. But I have to have faith we are on that right path and that the work we’re doing on the training ground is leading us somewhere. It’s improving but we have to put it together on a Saturday and we haven’t done that so far.
“It’s the start of a big month, some winnable games, and we’ll be attacking every single one of them.
“By the end of October the world could seem a very different place.
“For now, we have to focus on Saturday against Harrogate and give it everything we have got.”
Wanderers have eight games this month in all competitions, with 21 league points at stake.
At the end of it, two major litmus tests for their promotion ambitions come at the start of November against fancied Mansfield Town and Salford City.
The club’s high expectations going into the season have intensified the criticism which has followed five competitive defeats. It is not going according to script for Evatt and his team – but he remains adamant that patience will pay off.
“The most important thing, for me, is where I am mentally and the belief in the dressing room,” he said. “We have been consistently inconsistent, and I accept the results haven’t been right.
“But we have stayed positive on the training ground, the positive messages have been reinforced on the training ground. That hasn’t changed.
“The quality has been there but for the first real time I have seen players willing to fall out with each other, holding each other accountable. We have to be able to play angry if we’re going to get results. I want them to be like that.
“When you have got a new group, sometimes you want to make friends rather than lose them. I don’t think football works like that, though, it’s about winning. If you do that you get respect from your team-mates and those relationships will grow. But, for now, we need to progress and right a few wrongs.
“We haven’t started well but October can be a big month for us.”
Personally, the poor start has also come as a shock to Evatt’s system.
The former Barrow boss had his stock pushed sky high by his achievements in the National League last season, coupled with a style of football which drew praise from all directions.
Correcting Wanderers’ course represents a significant challenge for the 38-year-old and though he too wore a pained expression of defeat last weekend, he is dealing with it the best way he knows how.
“I live and breathe football and my family will tell you I don’t switch off,” he said.
“I’m forever looking at things we can do to improve, things we have done wrong.
“Self-analysis is a huge thing in football. You have to be able to stare at yourself in the mirror and ask if you can do more. What is working, what is not working? I do it every day.
“Saturday was the first time I really lost my rag and I saw that in the players as well.
“There are one or two things we have to put right. I don’t want to go into too much detail on what they are because it’s only on a Saturday where they will be judged.
“We have to find a way of stopping the rot.”
Source