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Wanderers could have Ian Evatt’s lucky Batman boxer shorts to thank after chalking up their first league win of the campaign at Harrogate.
The head coach revealed he had worn a special pair of underwear to try and break the winless start at Bolton – which came courtesy of goals from Eoin Doyle and Nathan Delfouneso at the Keepmoat Stadium.
George Thomson grabbed one back for the hosts in the second half to make for a tense finale but Bolton due deep to register a deserved victory, much to Evatt’s relief.
“I’d have tried anything, to be honest,” he said of the Batman-printed undies. “Saturday had hurt us all and mentally we have all been challenged.
“But I had seen a different, more aggressive side to them this week. They were starting to get angry with each other and today it looked like they played angry.
“Today was never going to be pretty. There were times we played well but the most important thing was for us to get a result.
“We fought, we dug in, everyone put a shift in – especially those who hadn’t played too much as well. The back three were excellent and dealt with everything Harrogate threw at them. They do that, put you under pressure, put the ball in difficult areas and we defended like men and I’m delighted.”
Evatt had been the first Bolton manager ever to lose his first five games but had insisted the tide would turn eventually.
“I think you all know me enough by now to know I’m a confident guy,” he said. “I was always confident it would come because the work we do on the training ground is good. But the longer it goes on the more nervous you become, no doubt.
“I am really proud of the players because they have been thought the mill this last few weeks, and that’s the thing, it has only been a few weeks.
“From when we beat Accrington it’s only about four weeks, in which time we have gone from HMS *** the league to probably the worst team in Bolton’s history. But that’s footy, you have to keep yourself on a level and believing in the process of what you do.
“I am super proud of the players today.”
Evatt made five changes to the team, bringing Harry Brockbank and Ryan Delaney in for their first league starts of the season, Jamie Mascoll and Andy Tutte in for their full league debut and skipper Antoni Sarcevic after injury.
“We had to break the cycle,” he said. “Einstein said the definition of insanity is to keep things the same and expect different results. You have to change things sometimes.
“Some of them were left out undeservedly, others haven’t been as good as I’d want them but again that’s football, they’ll come again.
“We’re a squad and a town that is in it together. We apologise for the start we’ve come up with but it’s only just October and there’s still 42 league games to go.
“I said to the players ‘one win is great, I’m proud but we need 21 more to have a chance of promotion, so let’s crack on.’ “My teams tend not to play well in September and it’s always a scrappy win that ends it.”
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The head coach revealed he had worn a special pair of underwear to try and break the winless start at Bolton – which came courtesy of goals from Eoin Doyle and Nathan Delfouneso at the Keepmoat Stadium.
George Thomson grabbed one back for the hosts in the second half to make for a tense finale but Bolton due deep to register a deserved victory, much to Evatt’s relief.
“I’d have tried anything, to be honest,” he said of the Batman-printed undies. “Saturday had hurt us all and mentally we have all been challenged.
“But I had seen a different, more aggressive side to them this week. They were starting to get angry with each other and today it looked like they played angry.
“Today was never going to be pretty. There were times we played well but the most important thing was for us to get a result.
“We fought, we dug in, everyone put a shift in – especially those who hadn’t played too much as well. The back three were excellent and dealt with everything Harrogate threw at them. They do that, put you under pressure, put the ball in difficult areas and we defended like men and I’m delighted.”
Evatt had been the first Bolton manager ever to lose his first five games but had insisted the tide would turn eventually.
“I think you all know me enough by now to know I’m a confident guy,” he said. “I was always confident it would come because the work we do on the training ground is good. But the longer it goes on the more nervous you become, no doubt.
“I am really proud of the players because they have been thought the mill this last few weeks, and that’s the thing, it has only been a few weeks.
“From when we beat Accrington it’s only about four weeks, in which time we have gone from HMS *** the league to probably the worst team in Bolton’s history. But that’s footy, you have to keep yourself on a level and believing in the process of what you do.
“I am super proud of the players today.”
Evatt made five changes to the team, bringing Harry Brockbank and Ryan Delaney in for their first league starts of the season, Jamie Mascoll and Andy Tutte in for their full league debut and skipper Antoni Sarcevic after injury.
“We had to break the cycle,” he said. “Einstein said the definition of insanity is to keep things the same and expect different results. You have to change things sometimes.
“Some of them were left out undeservedly, others haven’t been as good as I’d want them but again that’s football, they’ll come again.
“We’re a squad and a town that is in it together. We apologise for the start we’ve come up with but it’s only just October and there’s still 42 league games to go.
“I said to the players ‘one win is great, I’m proud but we need 21 more to have a chance of promotion, so let’s crack on.’ “My teams tend not to play well in September and it’s always a scrappy win that ends it.”
Source
Last edited by karlypants on Sat Oct 03 2020, 23:36; edited 2 times in total