Ian Evatt admits it has been an emotional week for Bolton Wanderers following the death of defender Gethin Jones' mother Karen but has aimed to get maximum rewards against Gillingham tomorrow for the vice-captain and his family.
Karen, 56, passed away last weekend after losing her battle with motor neurone disease (MND) after being diagnosed last summer with the illness, for which there is currently not a cure.
Karen, a much-loved former midwife, leaves behind Wanderers vice-captain and sons Gethin and Dylan, daughter Ela and husband Gareth.
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Wanderers travel to Priestfield this Saturday aiming for three points against the Gills, but Evatt has confirmed that Jones will not be considered for selection and will be given all the time he needs to grieve after his mother's passing before returning to selection.
Evatt and members of the Bolton squad have regularly spoken to Jones since his mother's passing last Sunday as the club offers the family all the support it can in this difficult time.
And the Bolton boss has reiterated their is no timeframe for when the defender could return to Wanderers, with Evatt adamant Jones will be given the time he needs to mourn with his family before returning to action.
Evatt said: “It has been emotional. We all feel really sad for him and obviously we’ve all built a relationship with Geth, but with his family as well through the event we staged earlier in the season.
“The news hit everyone hard but we have to come out fighting on Saturday. We will miss Geth, he is a big player for us and a great character but we won’t put him under any sort of pressure or timeframe, we have to do the business for him and for his family because I know it is what they would want.
“It has hit him hard. We knew with the illness she had that there would be issues, moving forward, but the pace and speed of what has happened has really hit everyone.
“Karen was such a big part of that family, the heartbeat, and she will be sorely missed.
“As a Bolton Wanderers family and community, all we can do is offer all the support they need. And they will get that.
“I know the players have spoken to him through the week, I have several times, and he knows exactly how we feel about him and his family, the plan moving forward.
“We are sad but we have to get our business done for them on Saturday.
"He’s under absolutely no pressure at all to comeback here. We’re all here for him and we’re not going anywhere. We’ll be here for him when he’s ready to come back and we’ll support him as best we can.
"But for now the most important place for him is to be with is family and mourn because he needs that, they all need that."
