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Ian Evatt insists there were no hard feelings between him and George Taft when the defender left on loan to Scunthorpe United earlier this month.
Signed on a free transfer with much fanfare last July, Taft managed just one league start for Wanderers in his first five months at the UniBol.
The 27-year-old has now signed for Neil Cox’s Iron until the end of the season, starting their last two games against Salford City and Barrow.
Evatt has now explained the decision for allowing Taft to leave for Glanford Park a fortnight ago, and the real reasons he struggled for game time in his first few months with theWhites.
“He has been unfortunate,” said the Bolton boss. “He started the season when the team wasn’t doing very well and suffered for that.
“He came back and had Covid issues because of his partner. Then another family member got it so he had to self-isolate twice in two weeks.
“When you miss that amount of training in a short space of time you are playing catch-up. Ryan Delaney had been doing well, Reiss Greenidge has stepped in, and he has found himself down the pecking order.
“But he is a great character, a good lad, and he has gone to Scunthorpe to get regular games, get up to speed and then he will come back in the summer where we can reassess where he is at.”
Taft is contracted for another year and Evatt has not ruled out him returning to Wanderers in the summer and challenging again for a starting spot.
But with a proliferation of centre-backs at his disposal, including Ricardo Santos, Ryan Delaney, Reiss Greenidge, Alex Baptiste, Adam Senior and Liam Edwards it was felt Taft was being wasted sat on the sidelines.
Evatt says he will now pick and choose when to play three or four at the back but stood by his decision to send Taft out on loan.
“Whether we play a three or a four from here on in will depend on opposition,” he said. “At Cheltenham, for example, we played three at the back, others we can use a four.
“We recruited in the summer to play a back three so we do have more numbers in that position and we also have Harry Brockbank, who can play centre-half as well as full-back.
“It’s the nature of the beast in football that if you are not getting games then you have to go out and find them.
“George felt it was beneficial to him, I thought the same, and he has managed to get himself another League Two club where he can progress and get himself fit.
“As I said, we’ll reassess in the summer.”
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Signed on a free transfer with much fanfare last July, Taft managed just one league start for Wanderers in his first five months at the UniBol.
The 27-year-old has now signed for Neil Cox’s Iron until the end of the season, starting their last two games against Salford City and Barrow.
Evatt has now explained the decision for allowing Taft to leave for Glanford Park a fortnight ago, and the real reasons he struggled for game time in his first few months with theWhites.
“He has been unfortunate,” said the Bolton boss. “He started the season when the team wasn’t doing very well and suffered for that.
“He came back and had Covid issues because of his partner. Then another family member got it so he had to self-isolate twice in two weeks.
“When you miss that amount of training in a short space of time you are playing catch-up. Ryan Delaney had been doing well, Reiss Greenidge has stepped in, and he has found himself down the pecking order.
“But he is a great character, a good lad, and he has gone to Scunthorpe to get regular games, get up to speed and then he will come back in the summer where we can reassess where he is at.”
Taft is contracted for another year and Evatt has not ruled out him returning to Wanderers in the summer and challenging again for a starting spot.
But with a proliferation of centre-backs at his disposal, including Ricardo Santos, Ryan Delaney, Reiss Greenidge, Alex Baptiste, Adam Senior and Liam Edwards it was felt Taft was being wasted sat on the sidelines.
Evatt says he will now pick and choose when to play three or four at the back but stood by his decision to send Taft out on loan.
“Whether we play a three or a four from here on in will depend on opposition,” he said. “At Cheltenham, for example, we played three at the back, others we can use a four.
“We recruited in the summer to play a back three so we do have more numbers in that position and we also have Harry Brockbank, who can play centre-half as well as full-back.
“It’s the nature of the beast in football that if you are not getting games then you have to go out and find them.
“George felt it was beneficial to him, I thought the same, and he has managed to get himself another League Two club where he can progress and get himself fit.
“As I said, we’ll reassess in the summer.”
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