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With several senior players out of contract at the end of the season, Whites boss Ian Evatt admits letting players go is “the worst part” of being a manager.
Alex Baptiste, Liam Gordon, Adam Senior, Andrew Tutte, Nathan Delfouneso, Liam Edwards and Reiss Greenidge’s deals are all set to expire this summer.
Evatt will sit down with the players in question on Monday to discuss who is staying and who is going.
The Bolton chief says he “thinks the world” of his squad but insists any decisions made will be “just business”.
And with the new ‘B’ team in the works, Evatt is also keeping a close eye on the youngsters coming to the end of their deals.
“It is the worst part of my job, there is no doubt about that,” he said. “I have loved my four years as a manager and had lots of success, but that is the worst part.
“You develop really close bonds and relationships with these players. I trust them and they trust me, so it is really difficult.
“At the end of the day, you are taking a job away from them. There is never a nice way to do it but we all have to be professional understand it is just the industry we are in.
“It is not personal, it is just business. I think the world of them all. It has been challenging and it is not just the first team.
“Now, I am all over the Academy and the second-year decisions as well because of the ‘B’ team. There are difficult conversations to take place in the next couple of days.
“I am not looking forward to those but there are lots of other things I am looking forward to – the Player of the Year Awards, seeing the fans and walking around the pitch after the game on Saturday.
“Lots of positives but there are some negatives in this job as well.”
Meanwhile, Wanderers have extended the deadline for current season ticket holders to renew their seats for the upcoming 2022/23 campaign.
Those who haven’t already done so now have until 12:30pm tomorrow to renew their seat online or via the Ticket Office, which opens at 9am.
The ‘Seat Swap Window’ will run between Tuesday, May 3 and Thursday, May 5 and any seats that have not been renewed will be made available for other season ticket holders to swap to.
From 9am on Friday, May 6, all remaining seats will then go on general sale for the first home game of the season (date yet to be confirmed).
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