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Wanderers will be at close to full strength at Portsmouth, with Ian Evatt urging them to seize a chance to shine under the nation’s gaze.
With no other professional fixture scheduled in the UK and Sky Sports cameras poised to screen the action at Fratton Park, the Bolton boss hopes his squad can continue in the type of form which saw them claw back a hefty points deficit on their hosts since the end of October.
Evatt said recently that his players had not been given enough credit for the quality of football they played – and though he picked up the November Manager of the Month award, goalkeeper Nathan Baxter missed out on the player’s prize.
Just long-term casualty George Johnston (knee) and Dan Nlundulu (hamstring) will be missing on Monday night, where Wanderers get the opportunity to showcase their improvement this season.
“I just want the players to be recognised for what they are doing,” Evatt said. “It is not about me, not about staff, pats on the back. I just want my players to be praised and rewarded for some of the things they are doing at the moment because it is a really high level, elite. When we do see things like that then I think they deserve the plaudits.
“That said, we are happy to fly under the radar also. We are happy just to keep being consistent and doing things the correct way.
“At the end of the day, the only people who matter are me, the players, the rest of the staff and the fans, everyone else outside of our football club is irrelevant.
“We just want to keep pushing in the right direction, working hard, and getting the best possible results for Bolton Wanderers.”
Evatt collected his second successive Manager of the Month award and to be in line for the hat-trick would most likely need a win against Portsmouth – something Bolton have not managed since 2009.
“If it is aligned with getting the right results, so be it,” he said. “My focus can be nowhere other than Portsmouth. It can’t afford to be because they are a really good team and it is going to be a huge test for us.
“It really isn’t about me – it is about the wider club. The players have put in a huge amount of effort and they are executing what we are asking them to do really well.
“Individual awards are really good but it is the collective results that mean more to me.”
Luke Matheson returned to training at the end of last week after pulling out of the squad to face Port Vale in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy with a minor hamstring problem.
Victory in that game booked Wanderers a last 16 tie at either Accrington Stanley or Lincoln City, which will be played in early January.
Both Paris Maghoma and Jack Iredale are currently on four yellow cards - with one more enough to earn them a one-game suspension.
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