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Ian Evatt has challenged his side not to rest on their laurels as their form improves – and says the same goes for his own work in the transfer market.
The Bolton boss is starting to see the fruits of his labour after a tough start to the season, with Wanderers climbing the table thanks to three wins in a row in all competitions.
But Evatt is determined to enhance what he already views as a strong squad and strengthen for the second half of the season to bring the success he is seeking.
“The life of a football manager is you should never switch off because like anything in life, you get out of it what you put in," he said.
"So when we’re away from the training pitch and I’m at home, I’m watching players, I’m watching opposition and I’m thinking about how we can plan and strengthen in the next transfer window.
“That is already taking place.
“I’m not going to sit here and say ‘we need X, Y and Z’ or ‘we’re looking at X, Y and Z’, we’ve obviously identified where I think we can be better and we’re looking at that moving forward.
“I’m very honest with you guys (the media) but that’s where it stops.
"I’m not going to start talking about targets and where we’re targeting.”
One position that will be under review is the goalkeeping slot, with young summer signing Billy Crellin recently replaced by the experienced Matt Gilks – a change that coincided with the start of Wanderers’ good run against Salford City in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
But for now Evatt is happy with ex-Rochdale and Blackpool stopper Gilks providing an important presence on the pitch, ahead of facing former club Scunthorpe United tonight – and not just for his performances.
“He was a player-coach so we knew if called upon he would have to play. That was his choice, and ours,” said the Bolton boss of his former Blackpool team-mate.
“The goalkeeping situation has obviously been highly talked about.
"Billy has had good performances and some not so good, but he’s a young player and he’s developing and he’s got a lot of talent has Billy, but sometimes as a young player you need to step out of the limelight and let someone more experienced take over and calm everything down and Matt’s done that, with his voice more than anything else.
“The way he communicates – I’m sure those who have been at the games will have listened to how he communicates.
"He’s certainly helped myself and Peter’s (Atherton, assistant) voice because he’s like an on-field coach, because he can see things in the heat of the moment on the pitch and effect things.
"So that’s helped no end. So for now that’s the way it will stay.”
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The Bolton boss is starting to see the fruits of his labour after a tough start to the season, with Wanderers climbing the table thanks to three wins in a row in all competitions.
But Evatt is determined to enhance what he already views as a strong squad and strengthen for the second half of the season to bring the success he is seeking.
“The life of a football manager is you should never switch off because like anything in life, you get out of it what you put in," he said.
"So when we’re away from the training pitch and I’m at home, I’m watching players, I’m watching opposition and I’m thinking about how we can plan and strengthen in the next transfer window.
“That is already taking place.
“I’m not going to sit here and say ‘we need X, Y and Z’ or ‘we’re looking at X, Y and Z’, we’ve obviously identified where I think we can be better and we’re looking at that moving forward.
“I’m very honest with you guys (the media) but that’s where it stops.
"I’m not going to start talking about targets and where we’re targeting.”
One position that will be under review is the goalkeeping slot, with young summer signing Billy Crellin recently replaced by the experienced Matt Gilks – a change that coincided with the start of Wanderers’ good run against Salford City in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
But for now Evatt is happy with ex-Rochdale and Blackpool stopper Gilks providing an important presence on the pitch, ahead of facing former club Scunthorpe United tonight – and not just for his performances.
“He was a player-coach so we knew if called upon he would have to play. That was his choice, and ours,” said the Bolton boss of his former Blackpool team-mate.
“The goalkeeping situation has obviously been highly talked about.
"Billy has had good performances and some not so good, but he’s a young player and he’s developing and he’s got a lot of talent has Billy, but sometimes as a young player you need to step out of the limelight and let someone more experienced take over and calm everything down and Matt’s done that, with his voice more than anything else.
“The way he communicates – I’m sure those who have been at the games will have listened to how he communicates.
"He’s certainly helped myself and Peter’s (Atherton, assistant) voice because he’s like an on-field coach, because he can see things in the heat of the moment on the pitch and effect things.
"So that’s helped no end. So for now that’s the way it will stay.”
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