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Wanderers may have made a weary start to pre-season but Ian Evatt is convinced his players will eventually feel the benefits.
After a slow start in Saturday’s narrow win at Bamber Bridge, the Whites step up a non-league level tonight as they take on National League North Curzon Ashton.
Evatt says the hard work done in a training camp on The Algarve and since the squad returned to Lostock has tested his players’ limits, and he was happy to attribute some of the weekend’s disjointed football to tiredness.
But with a plan to once again field a separate team in either half, he is looking for some improvement leading into the weekend’s game at Chester.
“We have really pushed the boundaries with them,” he said. “We want to work as hard as we can with them at this time of year to make sure they are robust.
“You could sense that a bit out there (at Bamber Bridge) – I think there was some fatigue because of how hard we have worked them. But we will regroup and then make some progress again on Tuesday at Curzon Ashton.”
The two clubs have never met at first team level before, either in a competitive game or a friendly, but a reserve team played against 'The Nash' in 2010 and the Under-23s played against Burnley at the same venue on two different occasions.
The kick-off time for the game has been switched to 7.45pm at the 3,000 capacity Tameside Stadium, which boasts outside its grounds a statue of three local World Cup winners – ex-Bolton manager Jimmy Armfield, the hat-trick hero of the 1966 final Geoff Hurst, and former Italy international Simone Perrota. All three players were either born or raised in Tameside.
Wanderers should find out on Tuesday the extent of George Johnston’s knee injury, after the centre-half limped out of the Bamber Bridge game after only 10 minutes and was seen leaving the ground in a knee brace.
With Eoin Toal also side-lined for the time being, Evatt is down to four recognised centre-backs and MJ Williams, who can slot-in as an emergency measure.
New signing Will Forrester has made a good impression, however, and the Bolton boss believes he can make a positive contribution this season.
"Will is a young player who, we feel, suits the way that we want to play," he said.
"He's very comfortable with the ball but can also handle his 1-v-1 defensive duties.
"He's had a good upbringing, has played some Championship football with Stoke and had a very good year at Port Vale.
"We think he has a bright future, so we're looking forward to working with him."
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