Ian Evatt admits Bolton need to find their "nasty edge"

Ian Evatt believes Wanderers need to work harder to find a “nasty edge” which will enable them to match the most physical sides in League One.

The Whites were found wanting in Saturday’s 4-0 home defeat against Wigan Athletic, which knocked them off top spot in League One.

The result raised yet more questions about the team’s effectiveness against aggressive and direct opposition, such as Burton Albion, the team they face at the Pirelli Stadium this weekend.

But Evatt admits he had some concerns about the players’ mindset even as they made a 100 per cent start, and in the build-up to the Wigan game he tried – unsuccessfully – to gee up the players to make a fast start to the derby.

Speaking to The Bolton News, he said: “I know this group of players better than anyone else, and sometimes the reason I say things to you guys in the press publicly and other stuff behind the scenes is because I know the type of group we have got.

“They are quite a relaxed and confident group and sometimes getting that emotion and passion out of them is quite a difficult thing to do.

“They are really nice lads, an honest bunch of players, but they struggle to drive standards and find that horrible, nasty edge. That goes for the games we have played this season as well because when we have gone 3-0 up we just haven’t had that killer mindset to go again and put teams to the sword.

“I tried to drum that up in them. I wanted to build the game up so that physically and mentally they were ready to challenge in a derby, win duels, first contacts and second balls but we didn’t do any of that.

“It looked to me like we just thought we could turn up, impose our style on them, they would find it difficult to cope and we’d just take over and blow them away. Well, no, it is not that easy. There are times when you are going to get punched on the chin and you have to get up and recover to go again.

“As a group it is something that we need to improve on. I don’t think it is anything technical, tactical or physical, it is between the ears. For us to compete at the top end of this league – which is where everyone intends – we have to improve with that.”

Wanderers will welcome back last season’s top scorer Dion Charles to the team for Burton after a one-game suspension, and Evatt says his absence was felt against the Latics.

“He brings a lot to us when we have the ball, especially the goal threat he carries,” he added. “But also he works so hard out of possession and that has been a big part of our game last season and this season.”

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So he's signed a load of nice guys and has only just realised?

The regular defeats in big games didn't give him a bit of a clue?

And yet I'm willing to bet he doesn't sign that Karl Henry type player that I've been banging on about for the last 18 months.

I think he's simply read my review of the Wigan game - about the mentality, working as a group and even to the line that if you get knocked down you have to get up again...

Sluffy wrote:We are a 'pretty' tippy tappy sort of team but don't seem to have any answers to teams that 'boss us' about?

I hear the call for a midfield enforcer but it seems to me the problem lies deeper than that, we need ALL our players to show physicality, shove them before they shove us sort of mentality - Jones lying on the floor moaning he'd been fouled in the lead up to the second goal sort of sums it up to me, he should have got straight up and back in the action.  

Even if he had he couldn't have stopped the goal but my point is if he had and the shot had been saved he would be back in some sort of defensive position, instead he was three or four yards behind play.

Players if they get knocked down should bounce back up again, if they have their shirt pulled, you just keep going forward, if you get fouled you jump back up and show no pain (even if it really hurts), you don't give them nothing and you fight for everything.

You don't want a hardman on the pitch - you want 10 hardmen on the pitch, you let the opposition worry about you, you hunt as a pack not as individuals to be bullied.

That's my philosophy anyway and how I played the game.

Half expecting another sending off tonight

finlaymcdanger wrote:Half expecting another sending off tonight

Our next game is on Saturday mate.

karlypants wrote:

Our next game is on Saturday mate.

D’oh! Too greedy for 2 games per week

Bill Shankley said when he was looking for players the two things they must have first are ability and courage then other factors came into it. Maybe Ian just forgot the courage bit?

Whitesince63 wrote:Bill Shankley said when he was looking for players the two things they must have first are ability and courage then other factors came into it. Maybe Ian just forgot the courage bit?

I haven't seen much of the quality bit when it matters.