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Will Forrester admits squad rotation is a fact of life at Wanderers, if they want to get success this season.
Ian Evatt will most likely ring the changes again at Shrewsbury on Tuesday night, bringing back some of the players he rested in the FA Cup victory against Solihull Moors.
Forrester was one of the players who did his cause no harm on Saturday, grabbing a first competitive goal for the club in what has been an encouraging start to life at Bolton since his summer move from Port Vale.
And while the defender – and others – will hope to stay in the manager’s starting line-up in Shropshire, he says any disappointment must be kept in check if he finds himself out of the side again.
“Obviously there is a massive competition for places at the minute, which is a good thing.
“It is frustrating when you are on the other end, not playing, but you know everyone is a team in there. Even if you don’t play, the lads get behind the starting 11, and that is massively important.
“We know all the different players are going to get opportunities at different times. It is a headache for the gaffer, really, but it is one that he wants and it shows the depth of the squad. It is just about staying level-headed when you are not playing, then taking the opportunity when you do.”
As the injury list subsides at Bolton, Evatt faces a different type of challenge keeping all his players high spirits and top form.
Forrester’s case is not an isolated one, and the man who served up his goal against Solihull has also been used for specific types of opposition this season. Whether Aaron Morley gets the nod ahead in midfield remains to be seen – but his set pieces make Forrester confident he can get more goals in a Bolton shirt.
“I said when I signed here that every season I like to set myself a target of six goals from centre-half, whether that’s set pieces or rifling one in from the stands. But that doesn’t happen often,” he said.
“It is important to add them to my game, so hopefully I can get on the end of a few more.
“Azzer’s deliveries are great. He is probably one of the most technical players I have played with and you know every time we get a set piece it is going to be on the money. It is just about getting in the right areas and attacking it aggressively.”
Each set piece that does hit the back of the net earns Wanderers’ players a bonus in their squad kitty, which has proved an effective motivational tool this season, as the strike rate improved significantly.
“We work on set pieces a lot, it is a massive part of the game – both defending and attacking them,” Forrester said.
“We have a lot of different routines and obviously have to mix them up for different teams. But the way Solihull Moors were marking in the box, we sussed them out after the first few. They were dropping into a mini-stack, we call it, so it was about attacking the ball aggressively.
“I am not sure the gaffer is that happy about it. But I don’t think he can complain.
“I think he’s skint now, though!
“When you are in the game you’re not thinking ‘the gaffer is going to give us some money here’ but it is a good bit of fun with the manager, which is good.
“If we score, he gives money in, if we concede one, it goes into their kitty instead, so it works both ways.
“We have defended the box really well this season, so we’re up at the minute.”
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