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The summer of marginal gains is underway at Wanderers.
Six weeks on from their play-off disappointment the names reporting for duty in Portugal were not vastly dissimilar to those who walked off in defeat at Oakwell.
Though familiar faces like Elias Kachunga, Conor Bradley, James Trafford and Kieran Lee are gone, recruiting their replacements is still largely a work in progress, and not one Ian Evatt intends to rush.
A year ago, Wanderers worked on the same training fields on The Algarve, tasked with improving a leaky defensive record. The answer, it transpired, was not a big rush of new signings but rather a different way of using several new players recruited the January before; a new formation, a higher tempo, an added emphasis on winning back possession higher up the pitch.
There were casualties as Bolton shifted their focus, namely popular attackers Dapo Afolayan and Kieran Sadlier, who struggled to find a niche in the new shape, but the net result was a defence that equalled the club record for a 46-game season, conceding just 36 times.
Ultimately, it would be a single goal, from Barnsley’s Liam Kitching, that would prove decisive. But Bolton’s own attacking limitations over two legs were a microcosm of issues that had been present for much of the season, particularly against teams who – like the Tykes – were able to frustrate, defend deep and prove more clinical on the break, or at set pieces.
None of this was lost on Evatt. He returned this summer with a challenge to sharpen up the club’s goal return without compromising defensive resilience. And though he anticipates that some of that improvement will come via new recruits, he is backing himself and his backroom to improve the players already at his disposal too.
“Last season we needed to improve out of possession and during pre-season we did a lot of work on that,” he told The Bolton News.
“This time of the year is key, it is the only part of the season where you get a significant block of time to improve the technical and tactical detail, and really formulate the plan ahead.
“What we came up with out of possession last year was excellent, it really worked. You saw the fruits and the benefits with our defensive work.
“This summer is quite the opposite. It is about keeping the out-of-possession and then adding more final third detail. I have a clear plan of what I want, how it looks, so it is down to me and the rest of my staff to coach that, then for the players to grasp it and take it into the season.”
Is it simply a matter of tipping the defence-v-attack balance the other way?
Only Ipswich conceded fewer goals last season, yet Evatt shakes his head at the notion that his side were especially defensive.
“Funnily enough, I don’t think we are,” he said. “We push numbers forward, but I think sometimes when we get there we are too structured.
“As a team, I think we are aesthetically pleasing. The build phase, the middle phase, everyone knows what they are doing. We keep possession, we rotate, we move, and when we get to the final third of the pitch it can be a case of: What happens now? What are the answers? Do we make extra passes, do we recycle the ball around the box, do we try and pass our way into the box?
“I think the answer to some of it is simply to take the shackles off.
“Provided the structure of the team is fundamentally sound behind the ball I think we should be taking on more shots from outside the area, crossing the ball from what I call zone one, which is the touchline. So long as the right players are in the right places then that is absolutely fine.
“We need to create more chaos in the final third of the pitch and make sure we play the numbers game.”
Evatt wants to add players to his squad who can boost that goal threat – but not all the investment this summer has gone into assets the supporters will be able to cheer from the stands.
Main pitches at Lostock have had a major overhaul and there have been improvements to the sports science and analysis departments that the management team feel can help make “one per cent” gains on the teams around them this year.
There is no shying away from the fact that some folk need convincing that some of Evatt’s squad have the required quality to achieve those goals.
With Jon Dadi Bodvarsson back in contention after his ankle injury, Wanderers go into their friendly schedule with five fit strikers. Dion Charles scored 21 times in all club competitions last season to raise his stock to the highest level in his career but for some of his team-mates there is still a point to prove in these parts.
January additions Cameron Jerome, Victor Adeboyejo and Dan Nlundulu – who has since made his loan move from Southampton a permanent one – have all been warned that more will be expected from them if Bolton are to fulfil their own target of automatic promotion.
Evatt is confident, however, that he can make a difference.
“We have not had enough time to coach them on what we want, what the answers are. When you are playing Saturday-Tuesday, it is literally playing and recovering,” he said.
“This is the first time we can look at those players and say: ‘No, this is what you do. This is what we expect from you. We are going to work for hours to watch you get this right and then when you go into the season we can watch you fly.’ “We invested heavily in Victor in January and in Dan this summer. Cameron offers something different and some individual expertise in the position.
“Jon is back in the picture, and he is a goalscorer. He got eight prior to his injury in January and he is now firing on all cylinders and ready to go.
“As a striking group I think we will see a lot more from them this season.”
Barnsley’s tactical approach to the two play-off semi-finals was widely praised, and restricted Wanderers to just three shots on target in 180 minutes of football.
By the end of April, the blueprint on how to frustrate and contain Evatt’s side was widely available in League One, and he does not expect anything to change when the new campaign kicks off in just over a month.
But the Wanderers boss intends to make sure his players are better prepared, once again backing his own input to make a positive impact.
“We know what is coming this season, we know what teams will try to do to us and we have to be better prepared for it,” he said. “This part of pre-season has literally been all about how we break down low blocks, what happens when teams put men behind the ball, how do we execute a more effective plan and make sure we create more chances and score more goals. All of these things we have examined in the off-season and it is down to me and the other coaches to make sure the players are confident that those plans are correct, and that when we do face that, we are ready for it.”
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