"It really can work" - Bolton boss Ian Evatt makes case for new thinking

The Wanderers head coach has pleaded with fans to try stay positive despite a losing start to the League Two season, which has seen the club drop to its lowest-ever league position.

Evatt tweaked the formation he had worked on throughout the summer on Saturday and insists Bolton’s performance was their best of the season, despite the 2-0 score-line.

Now he is excited to get his players back on the training ground this morning to begin fine tuning in the build-up to Saturday’s home game against Newport County.

“I was very pleased with the new shape and another week on the training ground and I know it will be even better,” he said. “The challenge now is turning it into results.

“There were some good combinations between the full-backs and the wide players. Jak Hickman has played that role before and he’s got great quality with his right foot. We put some lovely crosses into the box.

“But I am honestly pleased with the way the lads took to it, and I really think it can work.”

Wanderers have been their own worst enemy so far this season, shipping soft goals at one end and failing to take chances at the other.

Evatt admits he would like to take some pressure off by scoring first – something Wanderers have not managed to do since March at Burton Albion in League One.

“I think it would give everyone a huge lift,” he said. “A sight of relief.”

But the Bolton boss remains firmly of the view that his team deserved more than they got against Colchester – and that progress is being made tactically and physically in his squad.

“It’s only two games. Don’t judge us now,” he said.

“In any shape or form in the 90 minutes it didn’t look like they were going to score, other than from a set piece or a mistake from us.

“That is the nature of it at the moment. We’re being punished for every mistake.

“I think they made more errors than we did but got away with a few just with the run of the ball, poor finishing, poor end product, final decision.”