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Ian Evatt feels there is cause for optimism at Wanderers and is excited for what lies ahead.
The Whites have been in strong form since the turn of the year, consolidating their place in the top half of the League One table.
Evatt is excited by the progress they have made since the start of the campaign and reckons there is still “a lot more to come”.
“I think we have done so much work on and off the pitch,” he told The Bolton News. “The club is in such a much better place now thanks to Sharon (Brittan) and the board.
“We are able to build our recruitment policy and make sure that we are bringing in players that we feel can be assets on the football pitch for us moving forwards.
“The team has improved and evolved as the season has gone on and I think there is lots more to come.
“Nothing but positivity really. We are always going to be disappointed when we don’t win because we are at a huge club and the expectation is to win, but the main thing is we are progressing.
“We are on the right path and the crowd were fantastic (against Portsmouth) and over 12,000 season tickets sold at the end of March is an incredible effort. So (the aim is to) finish strongly and then build for next season.
The Whites are now 12 points off the play-offs with five games to go and it would now take a remarkable turn of events to make the top six.
Evatt admits it has been a tough season in the third tier due to the quality throughout the division, but is optimistic about what his side can do next term.
He added: “The main thing is we keep building, stick to our policies, stick to our beliefs and we will have a good go at it again next year.
“If you look at the other divisions and the level of points to be in the play-offs - the Championship for instance and League Two - there isn’t that huge gulf,” he told The Bolton News.
“It looks like between the top 11 and the rest of the league really and there are some huge, huge clubs - ex-Premier League teams, big Championship teams and that is the nature of the league now.
“It is like a mini-Championship and it is tough and you have got no given right to get out of it, no matter how much you spend and I think we have seen that this season.”
Wanderers are waiting to find out the severity of hamstring injuries for Ricardo Santos, Dapo Afolayan and Kyle Dempsey following Tuesday night’s game.
The Bolton chief reckons injuries have had a big impact on his side this season, particularly before Christmas when they were without several key players and slipped to 17th in the table at one stage.
“It is not ideal,” he said. “It seems to be one of those seasons for us injury-wise.
“I think the injuries that we suffered in October, November and December have really cost us from challenging in that top six.
“We have had a bit of a go at it in the second half of the season but we had so much ground to make up and those periods have really cost us dear.
“Sometimes you can go through these spells with injuries and have spells like this. The main thing is we get everyone in one piece and hope for better luck next season.”
Wanderers are back at the UniBol on Saturday afternoon when they take on promotion hopefuls Sheffield Wednesday in another big game.
Evatt hopes the home crowd will get behind the team once again and insists they can have a big impact on the players.
“It is huge, especially when the boys are tired and fatigued and we are carrying knocks and niggles,” he added.
“They can really be the 12th man. Saturday, I think Sheffield Wednesday have sold out their allocation of nearly 5,000 so it’s going to be another great game.
“Another big fixture and one that we need to perform better in if we want to win it because they are a very good team.
“Portsmouth have shown what a good team they are, they have been on a good run of form. It is competitive this league, it is relentless and we have to just keep going.”
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