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Wanderers are on the lookout for a new goalkeeper in the January window after Matt Gilks announced plans to step back from his playing duties.
Ian Evatt has confirmed a reshuffle of the goalkeeping department which will see Gilks move back into a coaching role, with Andy Fairman moving into the academy.
England youth international Luke Hutchinson was recalled from a loan spell at Atherton Colls and will most likely sit on the bench for tomorrow night's game against Wycombe, providing competition for Dixon in the short term.
But Evatt wants another senior keeper in the January window and has already “Matt initially came in as goalkeeper coach and because of what happened, he had to play,” Evatt told The Bolton News.
“He did very well for us. But he isn’t getting any younger and his appetite is for coaching now, so that’s the route we feel best serves him.
“He is a huge asset for the club in that department and will help all of our goalkeepers. We have some very good young ones like Luke Hutchinson, and Joel has improvement in him as well.
“We always want competition and we feel like another goalkeeper would help us in terms of competition for places.”
Joel Dixon’s hold on the number one shirt has come into question recently, not least when a late mistake against Hartlepool United led to Bolton’s exit from the Papa John’s Trophy.
The former Barrow stopper has become an important figure in Evatt’s possession-based style, asked to regularly help move the ball along the back line.
The Wanderers boss has backed Dixon to recover quickly from last Tuesday night and hopes fans will also give the keeper their support against Wycombe.
“What we are asking Joel to do is the modern way, really, and he is a completely different character to Matt, but goalkeepers, when they do make mistakes, they end up getting punished and they do end up in goals.
“That is just the nature of the beast, really. I think what is important is that Joel gets support and feels supported. It’s no good anyone getting on his back or getting on his case because all it will do is make him more nervous and more likely to make more errors.
“For now, we have to have confidence that he’s not going to do that again.
“He was gutted and no one more gutted than him about it.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do, there’s still half a season to go, things are moving positively in January, lots to look forward to and we must focus on getting back to us and winning games on a regular basis.”
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