Bolton Wanderers are aiming to make it back to back wins in League One this weekend when they take on Shrewsbury Town.
Wanderers head to Shropshire to take on Salop and build on the victory over Ipswich Town last time out.
They can go ahead of Steve Cotterill's side in the table with victory at Montgomery Waters Meadow, as well as do the double over Salop this season.
READ MORE: Ian Evatt makes Jon Dadi Bodvarsson Bolton Wanderers goal prediction as transfer sacrifice made
Wanderers have strengthened the squad ahead of tomorroe's clash with the addition of striker Jon Dadi Bodvarsson from Millwall.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow's game, here's what Ian Evatt had to say to broadcasters ahead of the fixtures, as well as giving the latest on the efforts to land Kyle Dempsey from Gillingham after a bid for the midfielder's services remains with the Kent club.
Another incoming?
“Obviously Jon has signed. We’ve worked extremely hard to make that happen. Jon has bought in to the project and bought into the club and what we’re trying to do and the history of the club has kind of helped us with this one with the amount of Icelandic players we’ve had here in the past and Jon watched a lot of Bolton growing up.
“He was almost a fan so it’s great to have him on board and add some more strength to our squad.”
Is he available for selection on Saturday?
“Yes. Jon is a player that hasn’t played a lot this season. He’s out of favour at Millwall, but has played international football. Similar to Dion (Charles) really, we have to be cautious with building him up and taking our time with him, but we’ve signed him with the future in mind, so yes, he will have an impact immediately but we’ll take our time with him and get him fully up to speed before we take any risks.”
Can you bring us up to date with the latest on Kyle Dempsey?
“The offer is still in. I think we’re still waiting to hear back but we very much want Kyle to be part of this and part of this project. But for now, he’s a Gillingham player and we have to respect that and hopefully we’ll get an answer off them soon.”
You’re happier than you were a couple of weeks ago?
“I’m a lot happier, we’ve won a game! That helps! This morning, sometimes it’s only when you put the names up on the training board and you see who is fit and available and who is injured and what the squad looks like in the specific departments and all of a sudden, it looks a completely different team and squad and there’s a completely different feel about them.
“I thought that on Saturday before the game. I thought there was a real energy and buzz about them and I’ve noticed the same this week. There seems to be a better energy. They’re holding each other accountable more, but in the right way, the right manner and they’re bouncing, which is great to see, but we have to back up what was a good performance on Saturday.”
Because you had the three-week period where you didn’t play, is it a mini-break or a restart?
“Well that’s what we wanted. No-one’s ever grateful of getting Covid, but at that time it kind of helped us because it gave us a break and it gave us and enabled us to get some bodies fit and available again and some bodies in the building.
"We seem to be coming out of the other side of that. Initially we struggled with some of their breathing patterns, but now that seems to have gone away. They’re getting fitter and stronger and more like their usual selves all the time, and winning a game can give you good confidence. We’ve had a really tough run.
"People can’t forget that for two or three months but even this year’s fixtures - Rotherham, Wycombe, two top of the league teams, and Ipswich, who are going really well under a new manager.
“It’s been difficult for us, but I thought Saturday was a real step in the right direction and we have to back that up on Saturday.”
Shrewsbury are next up…
“It’ll be tough. Obviously Steve is a very experienced manager and knows what he’s doing. He tried to sign me once so he must do!
"He’s got them going. I think they’re unbeaten in five or six games, it’s going to be a tough ask but if we can perform like we did on Saturday, and build on that, then there’s no reason why we can’t get a result.”
How has training been?
“It’s been very good, I must say. Very bright. I felt before the game against Ipswich, there was a change, for whatever reason.
"Whether it was the new bodies coming in or the change in system, but we looked like we had more energy and belief about us. It was obviously a fantastic result on Saturday and they’ve been really bright this week, but we have to back up that performance on Saturday and do our best to get another one.”
It feels as though a couple of players stand out for what you don’t see them do because they’re not on the ball and that contributes to the overall good performance of the team?
“The most important thing for me is how the collective defend together and attack together and that’s one to 11. Attackers don’t just attack and defenders don’t just defend. It’s a complete game now and you need to defend from the front and you need to attack from the back and our players did that really well as a collective on Saturday.
“Whatever they did, they did together, but first and foremost, fundamentally we looked a team hard to beat and on top of being hard to beat, you can then start adding the confidence and the detail and the possession onto that.
"But first and foremost, the scaffolding has to be there to hold us up and we had that on Saturday. But one result does not mean anything, we have to back that up and that means another good performance and a result on Saturday.”
Could we expect to see for a few games just to see a bit of a climb up the table where the performance might not be great, but as long as the result is there, that’s the main thing?
“Well I’d argue that both were there on Saturday. We didn’t have control of the game like we would want to, but we did in terms of chances created. We looked a more attacking threat and Ipswich are a very good team and I thought it was a high quality game.
“Kieran said that to me after the game, that it was a really high quality game and it was actually a pleasure to come to League One from Man United and having a tactical battle.
"The other games he’s encountered in League One weren’t quite the same, so in terms of the future, we want to go on a run but now we just need to focus on the next game. It’s that next game mentality and mindset and we have to go to Shrewsbury and have that same belief and confidence about us and try and get the right result.
“People try and get you to comment and they have done all week. Even family members have come to me and said ‘have you seen that at this stage last season, you were exactly 14 points off and you’re exactly 14 points off again and this will strike twice?’.
“Well no, we’ve got lots of hard work to do and if it was that easy, I’d walk away now. It’s really not. We know what we’ve got in the dressing room now, we know what we’re trying to build and for now it’s next game mindset and mentality and we must concentrate on the game and the result against Shrewsbury on Saturday.”
What do you make of the addition of Jon Dadi Bodvarsson?
“I’m really pleased. It’s taken some hard work from many people. But Jon has come here for the right reasons. Being an Icelandic fella, it has a bit of a history with Bolton with some good Icelandic players in the past, and he has almost been a supporter of the club in years gone by, so we’re delighted to have him.
"He’s an international footballer, only 29-years-old, he brings a lot of experience, a lot of good qualities to this team and we’re excited to have him. He’s another piece of the jigsaw.”
Shrewsbury have picked up a little bit and are five unbeaten - this feels like it’s going to be a much different game than the one that was played earlier this season?
“Yeah I think both teams are in a different place now, we were flying really high at that time and full of confidence. No real issues or injuries, but a lot has happened since then for us and from then, for them, they’ve picked up.
“They’ve had some very good results, are five unbeaten under a very experienced manager, a real tough place to go. It’s a real challenge and test for us but for now we just need to focus on ourselves and have that same performance level as what we had on Saturday.”
