Bolton Wanderers boss reveals fear if Shrewsbury Town result goes wrong

IAN Evatt knows he might have a ‘tough gig’ on Saturday night if things don’t go well against Shrewsbury Town.

The Wanderers boss will be one of the guests of honour at a black-tie event at the Whites Hotel, alongside former striker Aaron Wilbraham â€" now assistant to Steve Cotterill at the Shrews.

Evatt is well aware the mood of the room might hinge on the result but he is looking forward to sharing the stage with the man whose goal against Nottingham Forest in 2018 will never be forgotten in these parts.

“I don’t know whether I’ll be the support act, I don’t mind playing second fiddle,” Evatt said.

“He was a good player â€" here and everywhere else â€" and we have certainly had a few battles over the years. So it’ll be nice to see him Saturday night but it’ll be a lot nicer with three points in the bag.

“Hopefully we’re offering refunds if we get beat because I wouldn’t want to speak to me if we have!”

Wilbraham took charge of Shrewsbury last season after manager Cotterill was taken seriously ill with Covid, ending up in intensive care.

More than anything else, Evatt is happy to see that the former Burnley, Bristol City and Cheltenham boss is back in the dugout.

“Steve is a very good man, I know him personally because he tried to sign me a couple of times. It always helps that he thought I was a good player,” he said.

“I spoke to him when he was ill with coronavirus and he sounded awful so it’s credit to him and the football club that they managed to come through.

“It says a lot about him as a character that he is back out there, and yet they have had a tough start but we know this is a competitive league and I am sure they will turn it around.

“It’ll be a tough game. They are a powerful and physical team and we need to stand up to it.”

Evatt is unsure whether Shrewsbury will look to play defensively, as so many opponents have done at the UniBol this season.

“We honestly don’t know what they will do. I have watched them quite a bit and obviously we will hatch a plan,” he said.

“My job is to give the players solutions â€" if they do this, we do this â€" and I think that is somewhere we can improve on.

“Things are getting better, recognising where they are pressing the ball, where the space is on the pitch, and at times it doesn’t happen instantly. On Tuesday it probably took half an hour to see the space was with our wide players and full-backs, and once we did we had more success.

“We need 11 coaches on the pitch who can solve problems and I think we are getting better at it.”

Tickets for the event with Ian Evatt, Aaron Wilbraham and Harry Brockbank can be purchased HERE.

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