Home
Ian Evatt wants Wanderers to put their foot to the floor at Oxford United tomorrow.
Injuries mean there could be a change of approach at the Kassam Stadium, where Bolton look to pile more misery on a relegation-threatened side that has not won a game since January.
Evatt has hinted that more key players have joined Ricardo Santos, Eoin Toal, Jack Iredale and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson on the side-lines since Monday’s 1-1 draw with Cambridge United.
Wanderers have boasted League One’s best defensive record for most of the season – but the Whites boss admits he may have to “outscore” Oxford on their own patch and throw some caution to the wind this weekend.
With many of their play-off rivals also playing away from home, Evatt is looking to the players who have been passed fit to embrace the challenge.
“There is no denying that there is huge pressure,” he told The Bolton News. “We have put ourselves in a fantastic position, haven’t dipped out of the top six for a long time now.
“I always say that pressure is a privilege, and I’d much rather be in this position trying to fight for promotion than I would in the scenario facing Oxford, Burton, Accrington and the other teams. They have pressure too – but arguably it is worse than pressure for promotion.
“It is about focusing on ourselves and what looks like a good performance for us. As always, the first goal is important, and if we get it we can make things extremely difficult for the opposition.
“We have had a bit of adversity, there is no denying that, but we still have a squad of very good players, so let’s go and show that.”
Wanderers have not lost a game since Wembley, and have retained their top six spot on goal difference from Derby County with a game in hand.
Asked whether the Papa Johns Trophy triumph had a draining effect on the players, Evatt added: “It is hard to say – but what I will say is that we were 60 seconds away from taking maximum points over Easter right off the back of that result, and that is very, very hard to do.
“It was a big day for this club, considering where we have been, and we will never forget it. But for now we need to put it to the back of our minds and focus on this last six games.
“There has been a sacrifice made for Wembley already with the two players we have lost in Eoin Toal and Ricardo Santos, now it is about finding a way to get the results which will enable us to buy some time and get them back in action. That is a possibility if we make the play-offs.”
Evatt said after the draw against Cambridge that he was considering pushing Santos and Toal to return ahead of schedule and “rolling the dice” to get over the finishing line for a top six spot.
“At the moment they can’t functionally do what we need them to do,” he said. “Eoin is still very sore and hasn’t got the full mobility back in his ankle, there is still some swelling there, and it is the same with Rico, there is pain.
“We can only roll the dice if the dice are available. And at the moment the dice have gone missing, gone under the sofa or somewhere else. I’m looking for the dice and if you have them, or can point me in the right direction that would be great!”
Source