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Ian Evatt hailed his side’s attitude following their 3-1 win against Accrington Stanley in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy round of 16.
Cameron Jerome, Aaron Morley and Kyle Dempsey were all on target as the Whites booked their place in the quarter-final.
With the games coming thick and fast, Evatt made seven changes from the side that drew at Luton in the FA Cup third round.
“I have said it before, we have got a really good squad of players and we trust them all,” the manager explained.
“We made seven changes tonight but still had the right attitude and application. This was proper winter football – windy, a bobbly pitch and sometimes you have to play to the conditions.
“We did that really well and I thought the front two were unbelievable, Cameron and Jon just set the tempo.
“They made the ball stick and were always a threat in behind. We should have had more goals but I am delighted to be through.”
There isn’t much time to savour the victory, with Cheltenham travelling to the Toughsheet Community Stadium this weekend.
While recent results have been encouraging, Evatt isn’t getting carried away and knows there is still a lot of football to be played.
“We have still got a long way to go, there are many games to go, but so far (we are handling it well),” he continued. “We have got a couple still away and just need to try and keep everybody in one piece.
“The window is obviously still open and we will see how that evolves and develops. For me, it was just about having the right mindset. That was key.
“We felt like everyone would be speaking about the amount of games we play or speaking about how good the draw was on Sunday. To get ourselves up again and do that tonight was a real show of character.”
The toll on the Bolton squad is increased while Gethin Jones and Carlos Mendes Gomes are both away on international duty with Australia and Guinea-Bissau respectively.
“The lads are in a good rhythm at the moment,” said Evatt. “Obviously, we have to monitor training load because – as much as we have a good squad – it is quite thin at the moment.
“It is about making sure the ones who aren’t starting on matchdays are making sure they are topping up correctly, ready to play once it is their turn.
“The other lads just needs to stay in that rhythm and do all they can to recover and rest, that type of thing is really important at the moment. In terms of their attitude and application, I am really pleased at the moment.”
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