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Joel Dixon will not become a forgotten man at Wanderers, now that James Trafford has seized the number one spot.
Ian Evatt has pledged that the former Barrow keeper will remain in his plans despite dropping him from the side for Saturday’s win against Ipswich Town.
Trafford was brought in on loan from Manchester City last week and plunged immediately into action after Dixon’s form had taken a dip.
But Evatt is convinced the 28-year-old will react well to the challenge of winning his place back in his starting line-up.
“You want to play in every single game, no doubt about it, but sometimes you have to recognise when a player is low on confidence,” he told The Bolton News.
“Joel got some criticism – some necessary and some not so – and at that point you sometimes need to be taken out of the firing line, letting someone else come in and deal with that pressure for a while.”
Dixon became first choice keeper just a week into the new season, taking the spot from Matt Gilks who has since stepped back into his coaching role.
But for three cup games he featured in every League One match, his total of 2,070 minutes on the pitch only now bettered by Dapo Afolayan (2,072).
England youth international Trafford made an encouraging start, keeping Bolton’s fifth clean sheet of the campaign as they recorded a first victory of 2022.
Evatt admitted it had been a “big call” to put the teenage keeper straight into the side but feels some time out of the limelight could ultimately help Dixon’s Bolton career too.
“We are in a high-pressured environment right now with the results we have had and where we are in the league table,” he said. “Sometimes you need someone to come in who isn’t as damaged by it and press the reset button.
“It isn’t over for Joel, it is a reset to get some confidence and belief back, when the team is functioning better, and we will go again.
“It is about healthy competition and James is another step to that.”
Evatt changed the shape of his side to a 5-3-2, which also meant dropping Afolayan to the bench for the first time this season.
The club’s top scorer came on in the second half to score his 10th goal of the season in all competitions, and give his manager some more food for thought as they go to Shrewsbury Town this weekend.
Reflecting on the decision, Evatt added: “All calls in management are big and the two big ones were probably Joel for James and Dapo stepping aside.
“They are not easy decisions and managers are paid to make them but the most important thing is that the lads accept what happens. It’s about the team, it’s about the group.
“I am absolutely delighted that the group showed togetherness, we showed spirit, we showed energy but we showed some quality as well and that won us the game.”
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