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Ian Evatt hopes changes in his own personal life can have a positive knock-on effect at Wanderers this season.
The Bolton boss has talked openly about his decision to lose weight during the summer in the aftermath of the club’s play-off final defeat against Oxford United at Wembley.
The 42-year-old felt that a new approach was needed on the pitch, which has led to tactical changes in the new League One campaign. But he also felt a fresh outlook was needed in his own routines away from the game, and by shedding the pounds he wants to demonstrate that a fresh page has been turned from the disappointments of May 18.
Evatt has taken up running and spent time in the gym over the last three months with the results visible as soon as the Wanderers squad returned to the training ground in late June.
He has continued to keep up a fitness regime in the last couple of weeks and told The Bolton News that he has rarely had a more taxing pre-season in football.
“I think I’ve had a harder time of it than the players!” he said.
“Being a manager is extremely difficult and it requires a huge amount of mental time and physical time during a day, so finding time for yourself is tough.
“When you retire from football, where your whole career you have been told what to do, when to do it, what to eat, when to eat it, it is kind of nice being the boss and doing what the hell you want for a few years.
“I probably put too much weight on for me and probably wasn’t taking the right care of myself, giving time and prioritising time for myself, and I think Wembley gave me an opportunity to analyse everything. It gave me an opportunity to say ‘I can make a change’ and that isn’t just this season and changing what the players are doing. We have seen some changes tactically and that is one thing.
“But if I can change, I can set an example, I can go and do what I have done over the last three months, then I can show the players I am in the right frame of mind. I am here to lead, I am here to be ready.
“I hope that sparks them into doing the same, bouncing back from what we saw against Oxford United at Wembley.”
Evatt described the defeat against Oxford as a “traumatic experience,” and the lowest moment of his football career. Such was the disheartening effect, speculation quickly spread that he could walk away from the job he took on in the summer of 2020.
Sources close to the club claim that while the manager needed some time to come to terms with the disappointment, he quickly identified what he felt would be necessary to take Bolton one step further.
His efforts will, of course, be judged on his team’s results, but Evatt feels more prepared than ever for the challenges ahead.
He said: “I am in a good place and space and I think exercising has really helped me, mentally, because I’ll be honest, it was a very challenging time for me and going out there working hard and feeling better in myself has really helped me get over it.
“For mental health and well-being I think exercise is one of the best things you can do. I am enjoying, I am going to stick at it, and fingers-crossed some of the players take a little bit of inspiration from what I have been able to achieve over the summer.”
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