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Ian Evatt says some players will be disappointed with his team selection against Ipswich - but insists Wanderers will need to make use of their full squad this season.
The Whites kick off their League One campaign with the long trip to Portman Road on Saturday afternoon.
Evatt admits some players will be “massively unlucky” to be left out of the starting 11 against the Tractor Boys but challenged them to make he most of their chance when it comes.
“I think there are some really unlucky players come Saturday, not all of them because some have outperformed others in pre-season, but there are some who will be massively unlucky not to start the game on Saturday,” said the Bolton chief.
“But that is football and they are going to play at some stage. When they do play, they need to make sure they stay in, simple as that. We have had to look at possibly the first four or five fixtures and try to plan teams accordingly in perfect scenarios.
“Obviously, things change really quickly in football and can overnight, so we have to be flexible and make sure we are ready to change and be adaptable.
“But we have tried to look at the opposition of the first four or five games - what to expect, what kind of game we think it is going to be – and try to manage and pick teams accordingly.
“There are going to be changes, there has to be. You don’t win divisions or win promotions with the same 11 players week in, week out. It just doesn’t happen.
“We are really fortunate now to have a strong group of players that we think are capable of good things. But it is only on paper. They have to go out there and earn the right to be at this football and be amongst the promotion candidates.”
EFL clubs will be allowed to make five substitutions per game over the coming season – an increase from three last term.
The change was trialled during the 2020/21 campaign in a bid to reduce the physical impact on players during the lockdown.
Evatt added: “It is brilliant for me because I think we saw from the promotion season, that can have a huge impact on games, especially when you play with the intensity that we do. We play full press, high press.
“It is challenging for the front players and to maintain that level and intensity throughout 90 minutes is really difficult, so we can get five off and get five fresh ones on. And without the necessary drop off from the starting 11 to the next ones on.
“That is massive for us this season and hopefully we can utilise that in the right areas and it will gain results for us.”
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