MATCH REACTION: Evatt gives verdict after 1-0 defeat at Sunderland

Ian Evatt says his side must not lose heart despite drawing another blank at the Stadium of Light.

Carl Winchester’s first-half strike condemned Wanderers to their second successive defeat but Evatt felt the performance – if not the finishing touch – had been on par with their 5-2 win at Ipswich a couple of weeks ago.

Big chances fell to Eoin Doyle, George Johnston, Dapo Afolayan and Antoni Sarcevic, offering Bolton a way back into the game.

But speaking after the final whistle, Evatt said his players should not feel down after what he felt was a perfectly passable display.

“Everything was there in the performance bar the goal, the way we played, the way we beat the press, the way we kept a team like that pinned for long, long spells,” he said.

“On another day we win that game as we did at Ipswich, it was a similar game, to be honest.

“We probably created as many opportunities but just haven’t taken them in the last couple of weeks. But if we keep playing and performing like that, we’ll win more than we lose.

“The hard part now is maintaining that belief because we have had a couple of bad results.”

Wanderers have failed to score in four of their last six games but Evatt remains adamant that his side will pick up points if they continue to play to such a level.

“It becomes disappointing if we are not performing and losing games but I am positive it will come,” he said. “This is a really tough run of games and we knew this month would be difficult but we have shown we are competitive – for the whole second half we had them pinned in – and you could only hear our fans. Anyone who watched that game should be proud of their team and their performance because it is a long time since a Bolton side has come to a place like this and dominated a game like that.

“The adversity it only really coming from results but we have to show true belief, true character, and trust the process.”

Wanderers travel to Charlton Athletic on Tuesday night but will be without Lloyd Isgrove, who will now serve a 10-day concussion suspension after colliding with Sunderland’s Dennis Cirkin in the second half.

“It was a 50-50 header and they both headed each other, Lloyd came off worse,” he said “He is OK now but it is a pretty nasty cut.”

Evatt is also confident his team is still on course to challenge at the top end of the table in the coming months if they can preserve the same standard of performance they showed against the Black Cats.

“I think if you ask every other manager and opposition player they will tell you the same, they will say we will be there or threreabout come the end of the season because you are a very good team,” he added.

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