Ian Evatt believes nobody should expect Bolton Wanderers to be automatically up at the top end of League One this season and they must earn the right through hard work and stick together in the upcoming campaign when experiencing troughs in form during it.
Wanderers finished last season ninth in the third tier of English football in their first season back in the division. They finished 10 points from the play-offs and are aiming to be in the mix for the top six in the upcoming campaign.
A poor run of results during the October to mid-January period of last season is what put pay to any promotion hopes Wanderers might have harboured last season. But the Whites have a settled squad now which they will hoping to improve their league position with.
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Wanderers had a brilliant run of results in the second half of last campaign where they lost just three games. It is momentum they are hoping will carry over into the 2022/23 season.
But Evatt has issued a warning that his side must prove they are worthy of the fans supporting them and want to be fighting at the top end of League One. He feels it should be expected or taken for granted that will happen due to the hard work which is needed to achieve that.
The Bolton boss also expects ups and downs in the upcoming campaign and that the low points will help to define them. For if and when that happens, he has called upon the club to stick together and to keep the belief they can have a good season.
He said: “I’d argue that we had a really good start to last season. It wasn’t the initial start, it was the October to January period and this is the first time that we’ve had a settled squad in that time. The players understand the level of expectancy, they know we’re carrying momentum through from last season, but as I said to you in Portugal at the end of every football season, your credit is completely wiped out and you’re starting again from scratch.
“We have to again prove that we’re worthy of the fans following and to build credit up and to go and achieve something special. We all want to do well and we all want us to be fighting at the top end of this division, but nobody should expect it because there’s lots of hard work and challenges that go into winning football matches and having a winning football season.
“We’re doing the best we can, but we shouldn’t take it for granted. We have to make sure that we’re all willing to go that extra mile together, the whole football club, and we are going to have ups and downs during a football season and it’s in the bad times that I think and feel where we’ll be defined this season.
“In those times it’s important that we all stick together and we don’t panic and we keep the belief. We’re all feeling really positive and we’re laying down the foundations for a good season right now with how hard we’re working.”
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