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Wanderers have shown they can win games without MJ Williams anchoring their midfield.
Ian Evatt has explained the thought process behind dropping the former Liverpool and Blackpool midfielder to the bench for Saturday’s 4-0 win against Wimbledon.
Williams has been a mainstay of Evatt’s first team line ups since he signed for the club 12 months ago but found himself on the bench at the weekend as the Whites went with a more attack-minded midfield duo of Aaron Morley and Kyle Demspey.
Evatt explained: “MJ has played a lot of football since he came back from his shoulder injury. And we have relied really heavily on him and his workload since he joined the club.
“But we now have other options and there are different games which provide different challenges and today we felt we didn’t really need that defensive security.
“We could pick two more progressive footballers. MJ is a fantastic footballer and a wonderful part of what we do, but today we just didn’t really feel like we needed that one pivot to sit and stay and help.
“We felt we could get a more expansive team out on the pitch and that worked for us.”
Evatt is pleased with the progress being made by new midfield pairing Morley and Dempsey, who have been learning on the job since arriving at the UniBol.
“They are doing really well because all we have given them at the moment is data and video footage and visual learning,” the manager said.
“Once we get them on the grass and start to work with them and get them in the right positions at the right times. At their respective clubs, they were their best players, so Aaron was always expected to be on the ball all of the time and likewise with Kyle.
“In this team, you have to trust everybody in possession and sometimes the space is away from where the ball is and that will help us build better. They’re still getting to grips with that but they’re learning all the time.”
Wanderers have also had positive news on Kieran Lee, who had been struggling to overcome a heel injury.
The experienced midfielder had been concerned that a bone spur on his heel could rule him out for the rest of the season but specialists have confirmed he only stands to miss a month of football if he is operated on soon.
“He is going to have an operation on Tuesday,” Evatt said. “But it’s not as lengthy as we thought it was going to be.
“He should be returning by I would think the beginning of April.
“I think four to six weeks is the aim so it’s quite good.
“Someone fresh as well and we’ve got Kacha and Izzy progressing really well. It’s a really good squad.”
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