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Ian Evatt reckons James Trafford is “the complete package” – and hopes the goalkeeper can keep improving over the coming season.
The Manchester City loanee impressed against Ipswich at the weekend, making a couple of fine stops to deny Lee Evans and Sam Morsy in the second half as the Whites claimed a point at Portman Road.
Evatt wants his goalkeepers to be good with their feet and feels that both Trafford and Joel Dixon fit the bill.
“We know he is a very good goalkeeper and he has got a strong mentality and attitude,” said the Bolton chief.
“You are going to need to have if you have aspirations of playing for England and Manchester City, and that is where he is at at the moment.
“You have to be strong between the ears and he is a confident boy, there is no doubt about that. In terms of his improvement, we feel he can improve all areas of his game.
“Playing for us is really difficult because in every position really – defenders aren’t just defenders, they have to build attacks. Goalkeepers aren’t just there to save the ball, they have to build attacks and be good with their feet.
“It is the complete package we are after and we feel Traff has that, as we do with Joel Dixon as well. Joel started pre-season really well and there is good competition there.
“We believe in Traff and he believes in himself. We know there is improvement to come and hopefully this season we see some progression from him.”
Evatt says his side are capable of more in the final third than what they produced against the Tractor Boys but was pleased with their work off the ball.
“I think we controlled the game first half not really through our own possession, but through out of possession and that is another string to our bow,” he added.
“And when we go to certain places this season, we are going to have to do that because it is not going to be nice all of the time.”
Wanderers were one of the form teams in League One during the second half of last season, and Evatt hopes they can remain hard to beat in the coming weeks despite their tough fixture list.
“I must emphasise that since January when this squad of players came together, this team doesn’t lose easily,” he said.
“We have only lost three games I think in a long time for football terms. They have got that real competitive edge and never say die attitude. We need to have that.
“Energy and attitude comes before everything else – before talent - every single day. If we can keep that and add some quality, we are going to be a difficult team to beat.”
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