Bolton Wanderers boss Ian Evatt on away days complaints and being miserable

IAN Evatt joked that a letter has already been sent in to the Football Association requesting that Wanderers move all their games on a Tuesday night.

The kings of midweek were at it again at Charlton, ratting in four goals at The Valley to put themselves back on the fringe of the play-off positions.

That made it 18 Tuesday games without defeat, a run they will be looking to extend in October with a Papa John’s Trophy tie against Liverpool’s kids and a long trip to Plymouth Argyle, which will really test out the comfort of the team bus.

It has been a week on the road for Bolton, who before Charlton had travelled up to Sunderland. And by the time Evatt sat down to speak with the media on Thursday afternoon, he had been able to see only a fleeting glimpse of his players on the training ground.

Though Wanderers travel in style, stay in hotels, and to use Evatt’s own phrase “get pampered” in the build up to games, he expects to see some wear and tear in today’s game against Shrewsbury.

“The road closures, the diversions, the 4am returns â€" luxury or not, a coach is a coach,” Evatt laughed. “There is only so luxurious something can be, especially when you have 30 men on them, big men when it comes to me.

“It isn’t easy and sleeping in strange beds isn’t easy either but we make the best out of it. Thankfully the board give us wonderful backing and make it as comfortable as it can be.

“But a long trip is a long trip and you lose energy. We did on Tuesday for the first half, I felt, but managed to pull it back around. And we will have to deal with it again on Saturday, and we will.

“They leave a scar and it isn’t just returning home at 5am, it is the day after that, you know how you feel when you are tired and a lot of these lads have young families as well, so you can’t just return home and go to bed. We have responsibilities like anyone else and, yes, we get pampered but when you walk back in at that time and the kids are already up you don’t have long to recuperate.”

There is evidence to suggest Wanderers play better when out of their comfort zone.

They are on track in a bid to challenge at the right end of the table despite falling behind in eight of the 10 games so far, a stat Evatt is looking to address but believes underlines his team’s character.

“I do like the spirit in this group,” he said. “When you go behind in eight out of 10 games it says a lot about how they are as people.

“From day one we have had questions asked of us and in the most part we have come up with the answers but that is football. You always have to respond, even though we won’t always be able to do that, I know that.

“Saturday is another different type of question and we have to make sure we’re at it.”

Despite Wanderers’ impressive win at Charlton, there has been a surprisingly open debate about criticism this week.

Club captain Antoni Sarcevic says he was taken aback that his manager was moved to defend him and striker Eoin Doyle over comments made in the aftermath of the Sunderland defeat.

Opinion, particularly at a club with a large fanbase like Bolton, is unavoidable, Evatt maintains. And having shouted and screamed at the TV screen as England negotiated the Euros this summer, the Bolton boss is not about to cast the first stone.

“I have no doubt when we go 1-0 down on Tuesday that people were saying ‘he’s clueless, there’s no Plan B, etc’ and it is part of life,” he said.

“That is part of life now. We are very much a culture that likes to build people up knock them down. It is ingrained in us.

“I was the same during England’s Euro campaigns in the summer, it’s the way we are built, I think.

“But I think so long as you can look in the mirror and say you have given your best, even if that isn’t always good enough, you should get respect for it.”

Evatt is confident this afternoon’s live atmosphere at the UniBol will be supportive, as it has been since the start of the season.

“Everyone is entitled to an opinion, to have voice, and believe it or not, I am a supporter as well so I watch football matches and say ‘why hasn’t he done this, that or the other?’ “I am not always right, either, by the way. I wouldn’t preach to say I am. But unfortunately for everyone else I am the manager, so I get to make the decisions and pick the right or wrong teams.

“I am still only 39 and I have been doing it for three years so I am still learning my trade, learning on the job. There’s been success early on but I will always stay humble, work hard to improve and you should know by now I am never satisfied. I want us to be more and do more.

“My players are very much part of that now. They see how I am and they are the same.

“We are a strong group that wants to improve and people can have opinions on individuals, the team, how we play, and they pay money to have them â€" but we can all agree that we do our very best for Bolton Wanderers. For our town and community I don’t think that has always been the case but it certainly is now.

“I think if you give 100 per cent then it is enough for most.”

Evatt freely admits he is a hard man to please, and while most supporters would have taken seventh spot after 10 games, he still feels a little short-changed by some of the results to date.

“Encouraging is probably the right word to use,” he said. “You’re right that I’m always miserable! But I just want to win and be the best we can be. The players understand that.

“I do feel like there’s some frustration with them as well. I feel like we’ve left some points out there this month, but we can take heart from our performances, but we know now after 10 games of the season, normally it’s the nitty gritty and games are relentless week to week and by the time you stop to think and breath, it’s after Christmas and you’re on the home run.

“After the initial start, we feel like we’ve been decent but not great. We feel there’s more to come and if we can now kick on into that top six and cement our place in that top six, we’ll be pleased.”

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