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Ian Evatt reckons his players have not had the credit they deserve during a run which has put them in a strong position on league and cup fronts.
With just one defeat in their last 16 games in all competitions, one goal conceded in close to 14 hours of football, and a league-high 19 different goal-scorers in the squad, all would appear rosy in the Wanderers’ garden right now.
But Evatt, whose side prepare for a top-of-the-table clash at Portsmouth on Monday, feels the quality of football his team has shown in the past few months has been overlooked by the footballing fraternity, at least that outside of Bolton.
The Bolton boss says he is enjoying watching his side from the touchline as they assembled a blistering run from late September which has seen them through to the FA Cup third round, the last 16 of the Bristol Street Motors and with a shot of toppling leaders Pompey in front of the TV cameras at Fratton Park.
“It has been fantastic to watch at times,” he said. “I think some of our play has been great, and I think undervalued too.
“I don’t necessarily think the players are getting the credit they deserve, not necessarily from our town and within our support and fanbase, but outside.
“Some of the goals we are scoring at the moment comes from football which is very difficult to execute and I am very proud of what we are doing.
“I do think there is more to come, there is still that ruthless edge that we can develop and work on. It is getting there but we are not quite where we want to be.
“All I see is enjoyment from the players and a desire to keep improving and working hard.”
Wanderers are yet to confirm the extent of Dan Nlundulu’s hamstring injury but it is widely thought he will play no part at Portsmouth. Cameron Jerome recovered from neck and back problems to feature as a substitute against Port Vale but Randell Williams was rested after suffering with tendonitis in recent weeks.
The wing-back should be available at Portsmouth and is pleased to be heading towards one of League One’s big-hitters with the squad in such a confident frame of mind.
“We’re in a really, really good spell at the moment,” he said. “We had that little break and a reset, and we can’t drop this winning mentality.
“I think this is a really defining period in the season for us with so many games coming up. There’s going to be lots of squad rotation, and we have the players to come in and fill the gaps if needs be. We just want to keep on winning games.
“But even if we win everything to the end of December there is still got to do it in the second half of the season. It is still quite wide open, and we can’t go getting ahead of ourselves. Stay grounded, be confident, stay together and hopefully get results.”
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