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Ian Evatt hopes regular comparisons between new signings Josh Dacres-Cogley and Nathan Baxter and last season’s loan heroes Conor Bradley and James Trafford will start to fade.
The Wanderers boss has been delighted to see his wing-back and goalkeeper make positive starts to their Bolton career but hopes people can judge them in their own right.
He said: “It is important to acknowledge Conor and James’s contribution last season, they were both fantastic players for us, but Nathan and Josh are creating their own memories and their own performance levels. They are their own men, and we mustn’t keep comparing them.
“What they are doing has been excellent, they are both playing very well.
“Whether it is an individual or as a collective team the focus has just got to be on keeping going now for as long as we can.”
Dacres-Cogley created two goals in the first half of Tuesday night’s 3-1 win against Fleetwood, a spell of flowing football Evatt believes was only surpassed in his time at the club by the Papa Johns Trophy final.
“I think some of the play was electric and it is great to see some of the things coming to life that we worked hard on in the summer,” he said.
“For us, it is about putting that into a 90 minute performance, that would be perfection. I don’t believe perfection exists but if you keep striving for it, you are on the right path.
“We’ll continue to try and improve but it has been a good start.”
Evatt also explained the decision to withdraw George Thomason at half time, having restored him to the starting line-up for the first time in the league this season.
Referee Tom Nield had warned the midfielder to “be careful” after picking up a yellow card, prompting the substitution. Ironically, Dan Nlundulu was also ready to replace Dion Charles a full minute before he picked up a second booking after the break.
“One of the downsides to the new regulations is that managers are going to have to consider removing players at half time when they are on a yellow card. That threshold is so low at the moment is pretty low and it is something we need to be aware of,” Evatt said.
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