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Wanderers get back down to business against Bristol Rovers tonight with Ian Evatt keen to turn a “good” start to the season into a great one.
Victory against Fleetwood Town in the last league game ensured the mood over a 13-day break remained a positive one – and there has been more to boost the camp this week with the news that Conor Bradley will be staying for the course of his season-long loan from Liverpool.
Furthermore, first team coach Sam Hird also affirmed his allegiance to the club by turning down an approach from National League York City over their vacant manager’s job.
Other than an unfortunate ankle injury to midfielder Kyle Dempsey there has been little to dampen the spirit at Bolton over the last couple of weeks. But Evatt is eager to claim back some of the lost ground on the automatic places, currently occupied by Plymouth Argyle and Ipswich Town, with a strong finish to the year.
“It has been a funny old start to the season,” he said. “We have had some real ups and some real downs but the bottom line is that we’re in the top six having played a game fewer than most of the teams around us. We are in a decent position, a good place. It is a pretty good start.
“Over the last six games we have achieved two points per game or more, so that means good form. Performance-wise I have seen much more encouraging signs over the last couple of games, more of what I’d seen early in the season.
“Historically – and we can only go off what has gone before because we can’t see into the future – but my teams tend to finish strongly.
“We seem to have given ourselves a much better platform to kick on from, so we will see how we get on.”
Wanderers’ form took a serious dip at this stage of the season 12 months ago but Evatt feels confident he has a better squad to cope with December’s demands this time around.
In his first two campaigns it has been post-January form that has rescued the league position.
“Let’s just hope it isn’t the other way around this season!” he grinned.
“Look, I feel like we have got a good squad and I feel like we have made strides of progression throughout my tenure here. This season has been no different.
“It has been chalk and cheese compared to where we were at last December, which was disastrous. I am hopeful things will be a lot better this time around.”
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