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Ian Evatt admits he is still trying to strike the right balance at Wanderers between defence and attack.
Top scorers in League One up until last weekend’s blank at Cambridge United, Bolton have also shipped eight goals, with another two in the Papa John’s Trophy in midweek against Port Vale.
It is a far cry from the end of last season when Evatt’s side earned a reputation for seeing out 1-0 wins as they made a late dash for promotion.
Wanderers take on Burton Albion in a televised game on Monday evening and will be without left-back Declan John through a non-Covid related illness.
Evatt feels his players are still acclimatising to the step up in class from League Two, which has accounted for some of the high-scoring affairs, but feels a little like he cannot win either way!
“I think we’re just trying to find a balance to be honest,” he said in his pre-match press conference. “When we were keeping clean sheets and winning 1-0 last season, that wasn’t enough either, so it then boils down to that we’re not scoring enough.
“We do have to find balance, we are in a new division, we are still finding our feet in this division, and we are doing all we can to keep improving.”
Wanderers have had a good record on live TV in the past few years, with their last defeat coming in early 2019 against West Brom, when thousands of fans gathered outside the ground in protest against the club’s poor ownership.
Since then, Bolton have drawn against Blackpool and beaten the likes of Salford City, Forest Green and Crawley.
“No pressure, then,” Evatt said. “Obviously the fact it is on TV it adds something else to the game, doesn't it?
“When you know you’re on telly and you have got the general public watching, you want to give a good account of yourselves.
“They (Burton) have a very good record since Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink took over, there’s no doubt about that. I think it’s going to be a tough game and a difficult game for us, but also a difficult game for them.
“If we perform to our levels and standards and limit mistakes and learn from the performances and results we’ve had so far this season, I’m more than confident, especially at home that we’re more than capable of beating any team in this division.
“But we have to be at it and we have to perform to our levels.”
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