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Ian Evatt has challenged his whole Wanderers squad to take their “big moment” in the promotion spotlight.
Pointing to the example set by Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, who came off the bench with a superb goal against Wycombe to seal three priceless point on Tuesday night, the Bolton boss says every player will have the same opportunity to see their name in lights.
Evatt is planning to keep his team fresh once again by making changes against Charlton Athletic, which could mean names who had a limited role in the last couple of games suddenly taking centre stage on Saturday.
Everyone, reasoned the Bolton boss, will need to be ready to play their part.
He said: “That is the message to everyone, really. If you are not in the team now you have to be ready for that moment because you don’t know how much impact it is going to have in the end.
“Jon’s goal has gone towards three valuable points, that is huge for him to be able to help us in that way.
“It is the same for the other lads. Calvin Ramsay and Josh Sheehan didn’t get on but there will be stages of the season where they will have a big moment, and we need them to be ready to take it.
“All of them will have it – Rico Santos is back next week, Randell Williams is probably a week to two weeks away, the squad is getting stronger and stronger all the time.
“For us it is just looking at the next challenge, not what ‘might be’ at the end of the season but making sure all our focus is on Charlton Athletic.
“We managed to beat Wycombe but it has gone now. Charlton next.”
Bodvarsson added his seventh goal of the season – and his first in the league – to make the game safe at 2-0 against Wycombe.
The Icelander has played more of a supporting role for much of the season so far but Evatt has been impressed by his professional attitude.
“I can’t speak highly enough of Jon, he has applied himself correctly week in, week out,” he said. “He is frustrated at times but he has stuck with it and supported his team-mates, supported me, and he got his rewards with a fantastic finish.”
Wanderers had made six changes from the team that drew with 10 men at Northampton Town, with Josh Dacres-Cogley getting a start after his name did not even appear on the team-sheet at Sixfields.
“That was the point of Saturday, really, to try and get him a breather and going again,” Evatt said of the wing-back.
“The energy we needed was there. Kyle (Dempsey) brought it even though he’d played 90 minutes against Northampton, he was back to his best. Paris (Maghoma) was excellent in phases of the game too.
“The back three defended admirably, I must say, against some tough opponents.”
The win gives Bolton a shot in the arm after two hard-fought draws against Barnsley and Northampton, and performances that received mixed reviews from the fans.
“It is amazing what two neutral – not even negative results can do,” Evatt said.
“Players’ confidence takes months and months to build but it can go in a heartbeat.
“I think we lacked a little bit of confidence and belief in the first half but second half it came back and it delighted me to see it against a really tough opponent.”
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