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Ian Evatt admits victory against Doncaster Rovers felt bittersweet last night, set against more selection problems for the weekend.
A pulled hamstring for Lloyd Isgrove and a fifth yellow card of the season for Dapo Afolayan mean both players will be unavailable for this weekend’s home game against Cheltenham Town.
Goals from Eoin Doyle, Elias Kachunga and George Thomason sealed a comprehensive victory against Doncaster, who were reduced to 10 men shortly before the break.
But Evatt could not hide his own disappointment that the result had come at a cost – leaving him anxious to protect the players who completed the game over the coming days.
“We’ll need more than cotton wool, we need bubble wrap, everything,” he said.
“It really is unprecedented but there is nothing we can do. We can’t change it, we have just got to get on with it.”
Missing Gethin Jones, MJ Williams, Andy Tutte, Alex Baptiste, Harry Brockbank, Josh Sheehan and Amadou Bakayoko through injury, Evatt felt his players rallied well to register back-to-back home wins for the first time this season in the league.
“It is a bit of a siege mentality and we need to have that as a club,” he said.
“We have come under hefty criticism, some of it just, some of it unjust. But we have got to keep calm, keep focus, and do our best to win football matches.
“I am pleased for George (Thomason). It’s about time he got a goal and got himself in the box.
“There were lots of good performances. I thought it was Elias Kachunga’s best game for us, he’s getting fitter and sharper and I though when Xav Amaechi came on it looked like the minutes are starting to improve his sharpness.
“There were some positives but unfortunately there were negatives with another injury.”
Afolayan’s absence on Saturday will be especially galling for the Bolton boss, as he felt his winger should not have been anywhere near a suspension.
“He is upset because three out of the five yellow cards he has received, we feel have been unjust,” he said. “He won the ball and his momentum took him into his opponent, so it is never a yellow card. There is frustration because he is a big player for us and we’re going to miss him.”
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