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Ian Evatt wants his Wanderers side to be calmer in attack and maintain their discipline as they try to break teams down.
The Whites came unstuck at times last season against sides who opted to sit back and look to frustrate.
Evatt insists it is important that his forward players remain patient and don’t drop deeper to see more of the ball – something he felt Dion Charles and Victor Adeboyejo were guilty of during the first half at Curzon Ashton on Tuesday night.
“We get ourselves in some brilliant positions, and that isn’t by chance,” the manager explained.
“It’s about the way we move the ball and occupy defenders to create space – sometimes wide and sometimes centrally. But it’s about continually asking those questions.
“I think what happens with the players – even Dion and Victor were guilty of it first half – when they haven’t touched the ball for a while, they feel like they need to get involved in the general play.
“You don’t see that from Haaland, for example. He’s not interested in building, connecting and coming to feet. He wants to be in the box where the magic happens.
“Sometimes they are so desperate to get involved, but what they need to do is probably be a bit more selfish, stay central and trust that the ball will find them eventually.”
The 3-1 victory at the Tameside Stadium was another positive workout for the Bolton squad as they gear up for the new League One season.
“I think in the first half hour, our positional discipline was excellent,” Evatt continued.
“Then everyone got excited because things were going well and everyone wants to get involved. All of a sudden, it becomes a little bit dysfunctional.
“We’ve just got to work hard on that and show the players the difference between when they are disciplined and when they are not.
“But there was a huge step forwards from Saturday and that is the most important thing.”
New signing Will Forrester made a positive impression in midweek, and Evatt believes he is a natural fit for Wanderers’ style of play.
“Will’s a really technical footballer and suits what we want to do and the way we play,” he added.
“When teams are sacrificing a little bit and almost in a mid to low block, we talk about provoking the press and maybe staying on the ball to wait for somebody to jump – a bit like Brighton do really.
“Once they do jump, it’s about finding the spare man who they have jumped off. We have done lots of work with that and will continue to work on it, but Will suits the way we want to play.
“The players have the freedom to rotate providing the structure of the team remains the same.
“I don’t mind if Aaron Morley drifts out to wing-back and Randell Williams rolls inside - providing they are doing their jobs.”
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