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Ian Evatt has fired an extraordinary broadside at his under-performing Wanderers, claiming recent poor results are a product of ‘mental weakness’ in the squad.
The outburst was launched in the aftermath of Saturday’s dismal 2-1 defeat at home to Oldham Athletic, a result sealed by a last-minute goal from Zak Dearnley.
Bolton have failed to win eight of their first nine competitive games of the season and have now dropped to 20th spot in the League Two table.
Evatt – who maintains that he has the backing of the club’s owners, Football Ventures, despite the poor start – did not mince his words after the final whistle, branding the performance “disgusting” and “gutless” in a seven-minute summation to the visiting press.
The head coach maintains that standards have been high at the club’s Lostock training ground but conceded that they have not translated on to the pitch consistently enough in his time in charge thus far.
Asked for an explanation, Evatt said: “It’s mentality, it can’t be anything else. I see what they do on the training pitch and it’s exceptional. I could show all the recordings to back that up but they don’t take it into games because they are mentally weak and fragile. It doesn’t mean enough.
“And those ones will be filtered out of this club pretty quickly. There are too many people who are in their comfort zones.”
Wanderers were limited to recruiting free transfers in the summer but landed two of last season’s League Two team of the year, Antoni Sarcevic and Eoin Doyle, along with a handful of other players with promotion credentials, prompting the bookies to make them favourites for the title before a ball was kicked.
But Evatt has been left pondering whether his side have the character to do what is being asked of them, delivering another frank assessment on Saturday evening.
“Do they have enough? I don’t know,” he said. “At the minute I’d say ‘no’ and that’s the truth. I’ll always tell you the truth.
“At the minute I am questioning the character of every single one of them.
“Footballers are the best in the world at making excuses. I was one for 21 years and it’s everyone else’s fault – the missus, the dog, the kids, the wind, the rain, the sun, the traffic on the way here. It’s never their fault.
“They have to take responsibility. We all do.”
The prospect of a quick turnaround would normally be an appetising one, but Evatt leads his side into a game tomorrow night against his former club Barrow.
Although the absence of supporters is likely to make Holker Street a less inhospitable environment than it might have been, there is an added layer of pressure on Wanderers to carve out a result.
Evatt, who last season led Barrow back into the Football League for the first time since the 1960s, feels his players should be up for the challenge.
“I’m a fighter, so bring it on. They have to have that same spirit. I wish I could go out there and play for them, I really do. But I can’t, I’m too old, and age gets the better of us all,” he said.
“If I was one of them I’d be rolling my sleeves up and saying ‘let’s go’.
“It would be a positive to have a game come around so quickly for me - but I’m a strong character.”
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The outburst was launched in the aftermath of Saturday’s dismal 2-1 defeat at home to Oldham Athletic, a result sealed by a last-minute goal from Zak Dearnley.
Bolton have failed to win eight of their first nine competitive games of the season and have now dropped to 20th spot in the League Two table.
Evatt – who maintains that he has the backing of the club’s owners, Football Ventures, despite the poor start – did not mince his words after the final whistle, branding the performance “disgusting” and “gutless” in a seven-minute summation to the visiting press.
The head coach maintains that standards have been high at the club’s Lostock training ground but conceded that they have not translated on to the pitch consistently enough in his time in charge thus far.
Asked for an explanation, Evatt said: “It’s mentality, it can’t be anything else. I see what they do on the training pitch and it’s exceptional. I could show all the recordings to back that up but they don’t take it into games because they are mentally weak and fragile. It doesn’t mean enough.
“And those ones will be filtered out of this club pretty quickly. There are too many people who are in their comfort zones.”
Wanderers were limited to recruiting free transfers in the summer but landed two of last season’s League Two team of the year, Antoni Sarcevic and Eoin Doyle, along with a handful of other players with promotion credentials, prompting the bookies to make them favourites for the title before a ball was kicked.
But Evatt has been left pondering whether his side have the character to do what is being asked of them, delivering another frank assessment on Saturday evening.
“Do they have enough? I don’t know,” he said. “At the minute I’d say ‘no’ and that’s the truth. I’ll always tell you the truth.
“At the minute I am questioning the character of every single one of them.
“Footballers are the best in the world at making excuses. I was one for 21 years and it’s everyone else’s fault – the missus, the dog, the kids, the wind, the rain, the sun, the traffic on the way here. It’s never their fault.
“They have to take responsibility. We all do.”
The prospect of a quick turnaround would normally be an appetising one, but Evatt leads his side into a game tomorrow night against his former club Barrow.
Although the absence of supporters is likely to make Holker Street a less inhospitable environment than it might have been, there is an added layer of pressure on Wanderers to carve out a result.
Evatt, who last season led Barrow back into the Football League for the first time since the 1960s, feels his players should be up for the challenge.
“I’m a fighter, so bring it on. They have to have that same spirit. I wish I could go out there and play for them, I really do. But I can’t, I’m too old, and age gets the better of us all,” he said.
“If I was one of them I’d be rolling my sleeves up and saying ‘let’s go’.
“It would be a positive to have a game come around so quickly for me - but I’m a strong character.”
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