Ian Evatt says Bolton Wanderers meant no offence with their celebrations in the win over Burton Albion as he believes it shows the togetheness of the League One club.
Wanderers came from behind to beat the Brewers 2-1 on Tuesday evening. Sam Hughes had put the hosts ahead in the second half and had them on course for three points.
After having been frustrated by Burton for much of the encounter, Amadou Bakayoko fired home an equaliser before full-time. Fellow substitute Jon Dadi Bodvarsson scored a dramatic 98th minute winner to give Wanderers the three points.
READ MORE: 'Frustrating' - Bolton's Ian Evatt suggests solution after just 49 minutes of play in Burton victory
The winner prompted celebration from the hosts, something which the opposition camp did not appreciate, with Brewers boss Dino Maamria saying they will remember them and look forward to the return meeting.
Evatt has said that the Whites did not mean any offence from the celebrations and they were not meant that way. But he vowed it showed the togetherness and the release following a frustrating clash in which the ball was in play for only 49 minutes across the entire encounter.
He said: “We were all extremely frustrated with how the game was going. But what I will say is, it shows massively our togetherness. You saw the celebrations from the bench, from the staff, from the support team, from the stands, from the players themselves. It means a great deal to us to win football matches, to us all.
"We didn’t mean any offence to them, we were just trying to celebrate with our team. If people choose to take offence to that then we will apologise and say it wasn’t meant that way. As I said, we just wanted to celebrate with our team because we work extremely hard to try to gain results for this football club.
“It (the return fixture) is a long way away and we both shouldn’t surmise that we will still be in charge because we know football is a funny game and April is a long, long time away. What I will say is this team, this group, this club has really come together and we are fighting tooth and nail for every result. We will be looking forward to every challenge, and going there will be no different.
“I thought they (Burton) only got into the game because they are so dangerous from set plays, they were able to build momentum through set plays. It wasn’t anything to do with the general play.
"When there is so much disruption, it is difficult to gather a head of steam. As I said, 49 minutes out of 100 – it’s crazy! We asked the players to speed up after half time.
"We said we can’t control what they do when they have got goal kicks, throw-ins et cetera but what we can do is control what we do when we have got those scenarios. Get the ball back in play as quickly as we can and get moving, and we did that better towards the end of the second half.
"I thought we deserved to win last night based off the fact that our attitude and application was first class.”
The win was the second comeback victory over mid to lower League One table opposition in the space of four days. Bolton came behind against Accrington Stanley from 2-0 down to win 3-2 last Saturday.
Some Wanderers supporters have expressed the view that Bolton ought to be beating these clubs by more. But Evatt had a message for any of those who feel that way, and believes his side remain a work in progress and are trying their best to make the Whites successful.
He said: “If those people who are saying that would like to come and take my job, they are more than welcome to it. It is not that easy.
"You have to find different ways to win football matches. We are all working extremely hard to be the best version of ourselves. We are still very much a work in progress, myself included.
"But football is funny isn’t it? Everyone has opinions, everyone thinks they can do the job better than the next person. It is just the nature of football. As I said the other day, we are going to win and we are going to lose. But what I will say is we are going to do the best we can and give it the best shot we can to make this club successful.”
Don't miss a thing from the club you love! For all the latest updates on Wanderers, sign up to our free newsletter packed with all the latest news here.
READ NEXT:
-
Bolton boss Ian Evatt on facing 'wounded animal' Oxford, team news update & Burton final say
-
'I know he's been frustated' - Ian Evatt discusses Josh Sheehan's Bolton Wanderers League One return
-
Substitutes make difference - Three ups & one down for Bolton Wanderers from Burton Albion win
-
Conor Bradley reflects on Bolton Wanderers suspension & experience on par with Liverpool high
-
'Isn't any luck in it' - Ian Evatt pinpoints key aspects of Bolton substitute goals in Burton win
