Home
Ian Evatt says his side will not compromise their footballing principles in pursuit of promotion.
Wanderers head to Cambridge United tonight looking to leapfrog Derby County and reclaim their spot in the top two.
The Whites dropped to third after Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Barnsley – a game in which their attempts to play out from the back drew criticism from some supporters, particularly as it faltered in the 15 minutes after half time.
Evatt has developed a possession-based style over the last three seasons but it has not always been met with universal approval from the fanbase.
But the manager pointed towards three successive years of improvement and the league table, in which Wanderers still boast the best points-per-game record in the division, as proof that his methods are working.
“It isn’t going to change – I can tell you that much – we are going to stick to our principles,” he said.
“There is methodology behind it, we are doing it to gain an advantage, we are not doing it for vanity.
“We need everyone to buy into it and support them. I don’t think it is helpful when there are moans and groans and kicking long certainly isn’t helpful because it tends to play to opposition strengths.
“The basic principle is that we are trying to draw the opposition on and create one-v-ones, two-v-twos, three-v-threes at the top end. And we did it a lot on Saturday, had a lot of success from it.
“We believe in the way we play and the results back that up. The results in my tenure here back that up. We need to cut out individual errors, of course, but we back ourselves to be successful over the course of the season.”
Evatt admits there is plenty of scope for improvement on the performance against Barnsley, whose high press restricted space and forced mistakes in possession – triggering a few negative reactions within the home crowd.
But the Bolton boss is content that by taking risks, the rewards will be worth it in the end.
“I have never seen a goal scored without an error of some way, shape or form. There has to be one, or a goal doesn’t get scored in football,” he said.
“The top teams give the ball away, we give the ball away, and it is how you react and respond which is the most important thing.
“Barnsley’s game-plan was for turnovers. When they did that they looked dangerous but apart from that I didn’t think they looked too dangerous.
“Yes, we need to be tighter, more detailed and clinical with our work, but we are going to give the ball away – that is on me and the way we play. The players have bought into it, they enjoy the way we play, and we have been very successful.”
Evatt believes his side has improved against aggressive pressing strategies and learned “different ways” to win games beyond their normal expansive passing game.
“We want to try and please everybody, but it isn’t always possible. We understand it and we will own it,” he said.
“But the numbers speak for themselves, we have been a successful team playing this way, we get a lot of plaudits from outside of this club for the way we play.
“We just need to be better at it. People speak about Plan B, C, D but I want us to be better at Plan A because if we are we’ll be difficult to stop.
“We have proved over this season so far and those gone by that when we get it right we are difficult to stop.”
Source
