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Wanderers’ reluctant keeper Matt Gilks won’t make life easy for his new protégé Lukas Jensen.
The 38-year-old former Scotland international arrived at the UniBol in the summer with designs of being a coach, registering as a player to feature only in a dire emergency.
But when Billy Crellin’s form became a major cause for concern Gilks stepped forward and has hardly looked back.
Ian Evatt brought in another challenger for the number one spot on deadline day in the shape of 6ft 7ins Burnley prospect Jensen, who has been knocking on the door of first team football at Turf Moor with the likes of Nick Pope for company.
The Dane has designs on becoming Bolton’s first choice but Evatt is happy to say there may be an unlikely battle now that Gilks has a taste for competitive action once again.
“It is a strange one because initially he didn’t really want to play, and that was the case for a long time,” he told The Bolton News. “It wasn’t that he couldn’t do it, just that he had backed off with his training and in his own mind he wanted to concentrate on the coaching side of things.
“Obviously when Billy came in he knew him well and wanted to give him the best possible opportunity to do well. And obviously that didn’t end up how we all wanted. So Matt ended up playing and I must say he’s loving it.
“I have said for a while now that I wanted to bring another goalkeeper in and now all of a sudden Matt is saying ‘it’s my shirt, he’s got to get it off me’ – so that’s typical of him.
“He’s a massive character and a huge part of what we are doing.
“He will be in the future too because he’s a fantastic coach as well.
“You can hear on Saturday with that vocal approach, the way he came to collect corners, and he tells me he has got the fastest, deadliest throw in football.
“Saturday was the first time I’d ever seen it in 20-odd years, but I look forward to using that as a weapon, moving forwards.
“I can’t speak highly enough about the job he has done for the team and the way he has put himself into the firing line. He has been exceptional.”
Wanderers hope that the Field Mill pitch will resist the inclement weather and allow tonight’s rescheduled game to go ahead.
Yesterday was all about transfers, and Jensen was joined by West Ham’s Oladapo Afolayan, MJ Williams, from Blackpool and playmaker Marcus Maddison on loan from Charlton Athletic.
The squad was buzzing with the news of potential arrivals yesterday but Evatt says focus was not lost on building upon Saturday’s 2-0 victory against Leyton Orient, especially with opponents Mansfield in a rich vein of form.
“I hope there’s no distraction – it’s only me, and not anyone else who has the potential to be distracted. The players trained as normal and the morale has been great,” he said.
“They are seeing who we are bringing in, the names and the careers that some of them have had and all of a sudden it seems to have lifted people. There’s a real buzz around the place.
“They can see we mean business now and there is real competition for places.
“We have to be at it, though, and we’re looking forward to Mansfield now, weather permitting, and we know it will be a completely different game to the one of Saturday.
“Normally the pitch is difficult, very bare, and Mansfield are renowned for being a physical team so we know we are going to have to stand up and fight.
“We will pick a team that can cope with all that and hopefully keep this run going.”
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The 38-year-old former Scotland international arrived at the UniBol in the summer with designs of being a coach, registering as a player to feature only in a dire emergency.
But when Billy Crellin’s form became a major cause for concern Gilks stepped forward and has hardly looked back.
Ian Evatt brought in another challenger for the number one spot on deadline day in the shape of 6ft 7ins Burnley prospect Jensen, who has been knocking on the door of first team football at Turf Moor with the likes of Nick Pope for company.
The Dane has designs on becoming Bolton’s first choice but Evatt is happy to say there may be an unlikely battle now that Gilks has a taste for competitive action once again.
“It is a strange one because initially he didn’t really want to play, and that was the case for a long time,” he told The Bolton News. “It wasn’t that he couldn’t do it, just that he had backed off with his training and in his own mind he wanted to concentrate on the coaching side of things.
“Obviously when Billy came in he knew him well and wanted to give him the best possible opportunity to do well. And obviously that didn’t end up how we all wanted. So Matt ended up playing and I must say he’s loving it.
“I have said for a while now that I wanted to bring another goalkeeper in and now all of a sudden Matt is saying ‘it’s my shirt, he’s got to get it off me’ – so that’s typical of him.
“He’s a massive character and a huge part of what we are doing.
“He will be in the future too because he’s a fantastic coach as well.
“You can hear on Saturday with that vocal approach, the way he came to collect corners, and he tells me he has got the fastest, deadliest throw in football.
“Saturday was the first time I’d ever seen it in 20-odd years, but I look forward to using that as a weapon, moving forwards.
“I can’t speak highly enough about the job he has done for the team and the way he has put himself into the firing line. He has been exceptional.”
Wanderers hope that the Field Mill pitch will resist the inclement weather and allow tonight’s rescheduled game to go ahead.
Yesterday was all about transfers, and Jensen was joined by West Ham’s Oladapo Afolayan, MJ Williams, from Blackpool and playmaker Marcus Maddison on loan from Charlton Athletic.
The squad was buzzing with the news of potential arrivals yesterday but Evatt says focus was not lost on building upon Saturday’s 2-0 victory against Leyton Orient, especially with opponents Mansfield in a rich vein of form.
“I hope there’s no distraction – it’s only me, and not anyone else who has the potential to be distracted. The players trained as normal and the morale has been great,” he said.
“They are seeing who we are bringing in, the names and the careers that some of them have had and all of a sudden it seems to have lifted people. There’s a real buzz around the place.
“They can see we mean business now and there is real competition for places.
“We have to be at it, though, and we’re looking forward to Mansfield now, weather permitting, and we know it will be a completely different game to the one of Saturday.
“Normally the pitch is difficult, very bare, and Mansfield are renowned for being a physical team so we know we are going to have to stand up and fight.
“We will pick a team that can cope with all that and hopefully keep this run going.”
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