WANDERERS concluded the year on a high note with a victory over Lincoln City, but Ian Evatt is still desperate to break his side’s erratic streak as they enter the New Year.
Bolton will have four consecutive away games at the start of 2025, one of which is in the last 32 of the Vertu Trophy at Lincoln, putting early pressure on a squad that has frequently failed to live up to its high expectations.
New additions are on the way, with Evatt hoping to recruit two or three new players and possibly bring back Aaron Morley from his loan spell with Wycombe. Others, including Josh Sheehan, Kyle Dempsey, and Chris Forino, are close to returning from injury.
The Whites manager has faced criticism from the fans at times during the summer, but he remains confident that his team can regain ground on the promotion pack.
After witnessing his team respond to consecutive home defeats with a more positive performance on Sunday, he is now determined to make the second half of the season more successful than the first.
“As soon as that final whistle went, my focus went to Mansfield,” he added, referring to the upcoming New Year’s Day game at Field Mill. “Isn’t that the life of a manager?” You don’t have time to celebrate victories because you know what’s around the corner.
“It’s been up and down all year. We’ve experienced both highs and lows, but that’s the nature of life and football. But if you’re on it, you might as well sit up front.
“We have a tremendously challenging run ahead of us now; we must continue to score points. We were quite upset with how Boxing Day went following a solid performance away at Wycombe, but now we need to start building consistency and momentum.”
Eoin Toal will be available against Mansfield after coming through the Lincoln encounter uninjured. The Northern Ireland international was replaced midway through the second half, although Evatt claimed the substitution was pre-arranged.
“It was always the plan, we need him fit and available because he is a huge player for us,” he told reporters.
Victor Adeboyejo’s role is less clear. Despite all efforts to have him participate on Sunday, the striker battled to recover from a sickness over Christmas.
“He has been really poorly with the flu,” Evatt remarked. “I understand there has been a lot going on, but he has been suffering greatly. We literally just got him out of his bed for the first time this week, and he found it challenging even on an exercise bike, so that may be a process.
Nathan Baxter will hopefully be able to play after breaking his nose in a second-half clash with Lincoln. Luke Southwood is on standby, but Evatt quipped that he wasn’t too concerned once he learnt the scope of the problem.
He continued, “I was, until the fellas informed me it was just a fractured nose and a little blood. He’s too good-looking to be a custodian, so it won’t affect him.”
