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Ian Evatt sent a Christmas plea for patience yesterday – aimed at a group of fans he has yet to meet in the flesh!
Such has been the chaos since his appointment at the start of July, the Bolton Wanderers boss has not yet sampled a matchday in front of his own club’s supporters.
With the pandemic’s grip likely to tighten over Christmas, it seems unlikely that the University of Bolton Stadium will be able to welcome season ticket holders for the foreseeable future.
In the meantime, Evatt hopes the Bolton faithful can get behind his efforts to rebuild the club in extraordinary circumstances.
“When I reflect and look back I feel like we’ve been dealt a rough hand," he said. "I am one of only a few managers in the whole country to have not connected or seen my own support yet, which is crazy.
“If I was sat feeling sorry for myself, I’d be worried about it. But I have a firm belief in myself and what I can achieve and do here.
“I know further down the line that I will love the Bolton fans and that they will love me. I think we can be a success together.
“We have missed them but the time isn’t right to get them into the stadium yet so we have to keep trying to put the structure in place to make sure that when they do return, they are proud of their football club again.
“What they have to know is that we are working ever so hard behind the scenes. In August we had nothing to build on, it was a complete restart.
“This season we have the January window just around the corner and there are a lot of games and points to play for. As I said Saturday, the face we’re still three or four wins off the promotion places is crazy considering how inconsistent we have been.
“If we can put things together like we did in November we can fly up the table and then I think we’ll be a force.”
As they are based in a tier two area, Boxing Day opponents Carlisle United will be able to welcome 2,000 home fans to Brunton Park for Bolton’s visit.
The pandemic has also meant some clubs have had to get creative when accommodating opponents and still sticking to the EFL’s guidelines on social distancing.
Again, Evatt feels the relative luxury of the UniBol puts his side at a disadvantage.
“This is a wonderful stadium but with no home fans in it, willing us on and making it difficult for the opposition, it’s a lovely place to come and play,” he said.
“We go away from home and because other clubs are not blessed with the same facilities we end up in a hospitality suite or in a bar miles away from the pitch, socially distanced from each other, going in threes to the showers. Here, because our changing rooms are so big, we can’t move them. They have enough space to be comfortable and be socially distanced.
“That is the kind of thing we have been up against but at home it has to be mental.
“We are even more expansive than we are away from home. I think when we are on the road we have figured out a balance, what we need to do to get results. We are more compact and we play more on the break with pace and power. At home, because we’re dictating the pace of the game, it is the opposite. We are leaving ourselves open and we’re getting hurt on a big pitch with counters and set pieces.
“We have to make sure that when we dominate the ball that we score in our good spells but also make sure we are more compact in our defensive shape.”
Boxing Day is traditionally one of the best-attended games of the year but thousands of Bolton fans will have to make do with watching the Carlisle game through their laptop screen vis the iFollow streaming service.
And that restricted vantage point, says Evatt, is another reason he cannot wait for supporters to be able to see his team live and in person.
“I would love the fans to be here for a number of reasons – to support the team, because I think we need them, also because when they are watching games on iFollow you don’t see the pictures of when we are good,” he said.
“I think you guys (the media) have seen that when we combine and play with pace, dictate possession, move the ball, it’s great to watch. And I don’t think you get to see that bigger picture away from the ground.
“When fans come back in then I think they will be more on board with what we are trying to do and how we will get there.
“For me, I haven’t connected with the fans because I haven’t even seen them!
“I am one of the only managers in the whole country who hasn’t had his own fans in the stadium to watch his team play.
“Is it going to change any time soon? Definitely not the way the pandemic is going. So we have to adapt and overcome, doing the best we can until we can do it safely.”
Asked if he had a message for the Wanderers fans at Christmas, the Bolton boss added: “I know it has been a really rough year for everybody, both away from football and within the game, and especially at this club. But what is on the horizon – a bit like the vaccine and the pandemic – is light. So please bear with us.
“It will be short-term pain for long-term gain. We will get it right, just stick with us, keep positive and keep believing because that light is just around the corner.”
Source
Such has been the chaos since his appointment at the start of July, the Bolton Wanderers boss has not yet sampled a matchday in front of his own club’s supporters.
With the pandemic’s grip likely to tighten over Christmas, it seems unlikely that the University of Bolton Stadium will be able to welcome season ticket holders for the foreseeable future.
In the meantime, Evatt hopes the Bolton faithful can get behind his efforts to rebuild the club in extraordinary circumstances.
“When I reflect and look back I feel like we’ve been dealt a rough hand," he said. "I am one of only a few managers in the whole country to have not connected or seen my own support yet, which is crazy.
“If I was sat feeling sorry for myself, I’d be worried about it. But I have a firm belief in myself and what I can achieve and do here.
“I know further down the line that I will love the Bolton fans and that they will love me. I think we can be a success together.
“We have missed them but the time isn’t right to get them into the stadium yet so we have to keep trying to put the structure in place to make sure that when they do return, they are proud of their football club again.
“What they have to know is that we are working ever so hard behind the scenes. In August we had nothing to build on, it was a complete restart.
“This season we have the January window just around the corner and there are a lot of games and points to play for. As I said Saturday, the face we’re still three or four wins off the promotion places is crazy considering how inconsistent we have been.
“If we can put things together like we did in November we can fly up the table and then I think we’ll be a force.”
As they are based in a tier two area, Boxing Day opponents Carlisle United will be able to welcome 2,000 home fans to Brunton Park for Bolton’s visit.
The pandemic has also meant some clubs have had to get creative when accommodating opponents and still sticking to the EFL’s guidelines on social distancing.
Again, Evatt feels the relative luxury of the UniBol puts his side at a disadvantage.
“This is a wonderful stadium but with no home fans in it, willing us on and making it difficult for the opposition, it’s a lovely place to come and play,” he said.
“We go away from home and because other clubs are not blessed with the same facilities we end up in a hospitality suite or in a bar miles away from the pitch, socially distanced from each other, going in threes to the showers. Here, because our changing rooms are so big, we can’t move them. They have enough space to be comfortable and be socially distanced.
“That is the kind of thing we have been up against but at home it has to be mental.
“We are even more expansive than we are away from home. I think when we are on the road we have figured out a balance, what we need to do to get results. We are more compact and we play more on the break with pace and power. At home, because we’re dictating the pace of the game, it is the opposite. We are leaving ourselves open and we’re getting hurt on a big pitch with counters and set pieces.
“We have to make sure that when we dominate the ball that we score in our good spells but also make sure we are more compact in our defensive shape.”
Boxing Day is traditionally one of the best-attended games of the year but thousands of Bolton fans will have to make do with watching the Carlisle game through their laptop screen vis the iFollow streaming service.
And that restricted vantage point, says Evatt, is another reason he cannot wait for supporters to be able to see his team live and in person.
“I would love the fans to be here for a number of reasons – to support the team, because I think we need them, also because when they are watching games on iFollow you don’t see the pictures of when we are good,” he said.
“I think you guys (the media) have seen that when we combine and play with pace, dictate possession, move the ball, it’s great to watch. And I don’t think you get to see that bigger picture away from the ground.
“When fans come back in then I think they will be more on board with what we are trying to do and how we will get there.
“For me, I haven’t connected with the fans because I haven’t even seen them!
“I am one of the only managers in the whole country who hasn’t had his own fans in the stadium to watch his team play.
“Is it going to change any time soon? Definitely not the way the pandemic is going. So we have to adapt and overcome, doing the best we can until we can do it safely.”
Asked if he had a message for the Wanderers fans at Christmas, the Bolton boss added: “I know it has been a really rough year for everybody, both away from football and within the game, and especially at this club. But what is on the horizon – a bit like the vaccine and the pandemic – is light. So please bear with us.
“It will be short-term pain for long-term gain. We will get it right, just stick with us, keep positive and keep believing because that light is just around the corner.”
Source