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Ian Evatt is facing a proper China Crisis at Wanderers.
After recruiting seven new players in the January transfer window, the Bolton boss admits his biggest test in the coming months could be to keep every member of his squad happy.
It is all a far cry from November and December, when illness and injuries in the squad left the Whites severely depleted.
“A month ago I had paper plates and now I’ve got our best China, that’s how I feel!” Evatt said. “I would rather have that problem than not.
“We have got some real problems selection-wise but some real good players and the most pleasing thing for me is how together the group is.
“There are some real good characters in there now and they are all buying into it with each other, they are all supporting each other.
“If they are out of the team, I don’t expect them to be happy with me, but I can deal with that frustration. It is down to me to keep them happy, but everyone’s going to play a part. Every single player.
“We need everybody from now until the end of the season if we are going to do anything.
“We have got a long way to go and a lot of points to play for.”
Evatt rested Kieran Lee in Tuesday’s 2-0 win against Cambridge United, telling the midfielder well in advance of the game of his plan.
Communication, says the Bolton boss, is important – but with the club’s form picking up so dramatically, there is a pressure on his shoulders to try and keep with the same side.
“We always highlighted this game for Kieran to have a rest and ideally I would have liked to have rested Gethin Jones and a couple of others (against Cambridge),” he said.
“But when you win 6-0 against Sunderland and you have kept three clean sheets on the bounce, if it doesn’t go right it’ll be ‘Evatt out’ again, so I have to be really careful with the team selection.
“Everything is hard, it’s not easy being a manager and especially when you’ve got this many options but I’m really grateful that we’ve got these options and hopefully we can keep them all in one piece.”
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