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Ian Evatt hopes an eagle-eye view of Wanderers’ next three games will prove to be a positive in the long run.
The Bolton boss will be banned from the touchline on Saturday against Burton, and in the following fixtures against Birmingham City and Peterborough United, after the Football Association upheld a charge of misconduct for his red card against Shrewsbury Town.
Evatt will take a seat in the directors’ box or the gantry but will remain in constant contact with his staff on the bench, issuing instructions.
And though he may miss the cut and thrust of the technical area, he is looking on the bright side that a higher vantage point could give him a more detailed view of the match itself.
“It will probably be more relaxed,” he told The Bolton News. “When you are in the heat of the moment and we have the opposition bench screaming and shouting, all the shenanigans that happens with that, then yes, it will give me an opportunity to focus on just us, how we are doing in and out of possession, what are the opposition doing, I’ll have a really quick view on that.
"I’ll know if the plan is what we expected, whether it differs, how we can change and how we relay it to the players – so in that regard I think it can be a positive.
“The only difference is me standing there. And I am not saying I don’t have an influence, because I believe I do. I am a fairly imposing character and I think the players thrive off that sometimes.
“I am passionate, I am emotional, I want this club and team to win, I want it for our fans. This will be different, but I am seeing positives in the fact I can step back and really focus on the detail needed on the day.”
Evatt has sat in the stands before – both through suspension and by his own volition – and on each occasion he has been able to watch his side win.
“I think I have a pretty good record when I did it before – Morecambe, Bristol Rovers on the last day of the season, I did at Stockport, and we won them, so I’d like to think that could follow us into this week,” he said.
“This wasn’t intentional, I assure you, but hopefully it has the same results.”
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