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Wanderers have been sent into this weekend’s FA Cup outing against Harrogate Town with a firm warning: “Look past them and suffer the consequences!”
Ian Evatt says he will not tolerate any drop in standards, either in Saturday’s second round game or the Bristol Street Motors Trophy tie against Port Vale on Tuesday, in the build-up to the top-of-the-table clash with Pompey on December 11.
Unbeaten in nine and tied on a club record seven consecutive clean sheets, Bolton are positively brimming with confidence as they look to book their place in the third round with a win against League Two opposition.
But with the televised clash at Fratton Park coming up on the horizon, Evatt has asked only that his squad ensure picking a team for the next league game is not an easy task.
“Portsmouth isn’t there yet, our full focus is on Harrogate,” he told The Bolton News. “That is the respect we are giving them, and they full deserve that respect.
“They are a good team doing good things, so to establish themselves in the league now is fantastic.
“Our full focus is on Saturday. We have to be like that, it has to be full tilt, laser focus. We’re not good enough to be able to take our foot off the gas, and that is the message we have given to the players. It is the line of confidence and complacency - we have to be on the right side.
“I want them to be confident, but you have to make sure we play at the very best of our ability.”
Wanderers have not had the best FA Cup record under Evatt, who collected his first victory in the competition as a manager in the previous round against National League Solihull Moors.
Harrogate, looking to reach the third round for only the second time in their history, will also have their eye on a potentially lucrative tie when the Premier League clubs come into the draw.
Evatt feels he has something to prove in the FA Cup and is eager to give the club’s fans something else to savour.
“The supporters are the heartbeat of this football club and they have suffered too much for a club of this size and stature and what they have done in history, it is too much,” he said.
“We don’t need to rake back over that, but we want to bring some joy and happiness back, and I think we did last season at Wembley, cup runs are another part of that, so is being successful in the league.
“We always remember that this game is nothing without the supporters, so hopefully we can give them a cup run, a big day out in the third round maybe, somewhere they can go and be proud of the club again.
“First of all, though, we need to make sure that our performance levels are spot on against Harrogate because we let that drop, we open up the door for them to get a result.
“I was pleased to get my first FA Cup win this season but now I’d really like to double the tally.”
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