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At times it might have felt like the week from hell for Wanderers – but Ian Evatt reckons a glance at the league table gives him an instant pick-me-up.
Defeats at Blackpool and Wigan Athletic dented pride at the Toughsheet Stadium and meant that Bolton missed out on a chance to capitalise on two slip-ups from second-placed Derby County to move into outright second spot.
Evatt says he has endured tougher times in his three-and-a-half years as Whites boss, however, and as his side prepare to welcome Cambridge United on Saturday looking to get back to winning ways, he insists the last week has not caused irreparable damage.
“I am sat joint-second with a game in hand, if you’d have offered me this at the start of the season I’d have snapped your hand off,” he said. “Sometimes a week in football can feel like a lifetime but I am calm, I have perspective, I can control the outside noise, we have a massive belief in ourselves and we know what is going to be needed to get the job done.
“We are going to give it our all. We are not making any promises here but I can promise that we will give it our best shot.”
Cambridge, still under the caretaker stewardship of Barry Corr following the departure of Neil Harris, have lost both games since last meeting Wanderers at the Abbey Stadium on February 20.
Evatt remains steadfast in his belief that the performance – not the result – at Wigan was a step in the right direction. But he accepts there needs to be more attacking punch on Saturday with more than 19,000 home supporters expected at the game.
“It’s hugely important,” he said. “Tuesday, large, large parts of that game we were very good and completely dominant, he said. “We just couldn’t find the goal.
“They made it difficult, they defended with huge numbers, we had chances and didn’t take them, and we got sucker punched. It happens in football.
“In terms of the overall performance that is a lot more what my team should look like and we have to take that into Saturday now, adding that final third detail and goals.
“We want to start fast, we want to start aggressively, and we want to follow on from what we did in large parts of the Wigan game.
“I think anyone who was reasonable about the game on Tuesday will say we deserved more than we got. Sometimes you don’t get what you deserve so we have to refocus, make sure we give Saturday everything.”
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