Home
Being stranded on 99 has been no fun for cricket-loving Wanderers boss, Ian Evatt.
One victory away from a century in the Bolton hotseat, defeats against Portsmouth and Bristol Rovers over the last two weeks have dulled promotion momentum and allowed a few old doubts to creep in around the fanbase.
Evatt remains steadfast in his belief, however, that the dip will be a temporary problem and that the Christmas schedule will see a return to form, starting with Saturday’s home game against Leyton Orient.
“It is a challenge for us,” he said. “We have to show that we can stay the course.
“There will be bad moments, there will be challenges and tests. But you look at any club that has been promoted and they have all had those periods where things don’t go well and people are asking questions.
“As I said at the start of the season, it is about how you come through adversity which defines who you are as a person and as a team. At the moment it has been a rough few days but let’s not start thinking the worst, we have had a really good two months.
“We just need to get back to what we are as a team.”
Coincidentally, the man who will be in the opposing dugout on Saturday afternoon, Richie Wellens, was also in charge of the Salford City team which gave Evatt his first home win as Bolton manager in 2020.
Matt Gray’s removal at Sutton United last week elevated Evatt into the top 10 longest-serving managers in the top four leagues.
Only five men – Charles Foweraker, Bill Ridding, John Sommerville, Sam Allardyce and Phil Neal have won more games in charge of Bolton.
Now into his fourth year with the club, Evatt says his passion to succeed is undiminished.
“Harrogate seems a long, long time ago!” he smiled. “What are we on now? I think it’s 193 games and 99 wins, so it would be nice to stay above that 50 per cent win mark.
“I love working here, I love this club. I think I have worked hard since being here and I appreciate what a big opportunity it has been for me.
“I have really enjoyed working with the people here from Sharon (Brittan) and the board, the players, the staff, even working with you guys (the media). The fans have been brilliant from the very start with me.
“There will always be some people who are unhappy with whoever, and if I was Pep Guardiola there would still me moaners. But it is just the nature of the industry we are in.
“I think I’m ninth in the country now in the longest-serving managers, which is absolutely bonkers. Who would be a manager? I don’t know.
“We have a long way to go and a lot of hard work to do before we even get close to achieving our goals and ambitions with Bolton Wanderers, that’s for sure.”
Source