GIVEN the bravado in the build-up and the confidence that oozed from every pore at Wanderers before kick-off, a performance like this should be unfathomable.

Outclassed in just about every area by their near-neighbours, and some would say biggest rivals, this result will surely be entered into Bolton’s Room 101 alongside the very worst in recent history.

To make matters worse, the ugliness was not confined to the pitch. Inside the stadium play was stopped on several occasions by referee Charles Breakspear to clear bottles and debris which had been thrown at players – while outside, the police were forced to deal with unpleasant scenes at Horwich Parkway.

In just about every way imaginable, this was a dark blot on Bolton Wanderers’ copybook, and an affront to the inclusive and welcoming atmosphere the club’s owners have looked to create in the last two years.

For an hour after the final whistle, Bolton’s players were confined to the dressing room, and no representative was sent to speak with the media.

When he arrived with untypical lateness deep into Saturday evening, Evatt said the debrief would be kept “in-house” but that quiet reflection, rather than anger and outbursts, had been the order of the day.

It had indeed been a reality check for a team that had been high on bluster this season.

Evatt had said after narrow defeat at Sheffield Wednesday last weekend that he still felt his team were the best in the league and that they were capable of scoring “four, five or six” against any opponent they faced. Of course, that sort of ballsy sentiment can always be spun the other way – and though the Bolton boss said those things entirely for his own players’ benefit, it cannot fail to have permeated the Latics dressing room.

One thing Wigan have always done well is playing the underdog.

In fact, every word uttered by Evatt and his players since the final whistle at Hillsborough was received down the road as if personally addressed to Dave Whelan by post.

There is probably a lesson in humility in there somewhere – but Evatt is unlikely to dial it down, because self-belief among his players is absolutely integral for this style of football to work. And if he has to take a few side-swipes on social media from local journalists, or chants from the away end, so be it.

Wanderers won’t stop pumping that confidence into their players because if it disappears, the whole thing ceases to operate. And that is the most worrying factor about Saturday.

Defeat at Hillsborough seven days earlier had stung, if only because there had been some good individual displays, and plenty of chances created. Here, the closest Bolton came to scoring was a volley out of nowhere by Antoni Sarcevic at 1-0 down that bounced off the crossbar.

Injuries took a chunk of the team beaten by Wednesday and the absence of Gethin Jones, Declan John and particularly the experienced head, Kieran Lee, was felt from minute one.

Harry Brockbank and Amadou Bakayoko linked up for the first time down the right and never got on the same page.

It was heart-breaking to see Bolton-born Brockbank’s shoulders sink lower the longer the first half torture went on against the experienced James McClean, and it is even more concerning to learn that his Twitter account was deleted on Saturday night to avoid the worst of the fallout.

Brockbank dug deep for this club when it really needed him, and so he fully deserves the support and patience for him to get back on track.

It was Bakayoko’s mistake that effectively opened the floodgates early on at the UniBol, a poor header back to keeper Joel Dixon that appeared to hit Charlie Wyke on the arm before McClean crossed for Will Keane to score from close range.

The colour drained from Wanderers’ faces thereafter and as a student of body language, Evatt will be alarmed by some of the finger pointing and bowed heads before Wigan were anywhere near out of sight.

It is here – and through gritted teeth – that you have to praise Leam Richardson’s side for the intensity they brought to the occasion. Backed by 4,000 fans behind the goal, they provided exactly the sort of high-octane football Evatt had warned about and showed that if they can avoid injuries they won’t be far away in the shake-up for promotion.

Wanderers had a brief window to get back on level terms. Josh Sheehan had a good shot blocked and then claimed a penalty when he bounced off Tom Naylor.

Eoin Doyle was also flagged offside – wrongly, in the opinion of the Bolton staff - when he ran on to a good pass from Dapo Afolayan. To sum up his recent fortunes in front of goal, however, he got around Ben Amos but could still not beat the former Whites keeper from an acute angle.

By comparison, Wigan looked menacing throughout the first period. Snapping into challenges in a midfield they dominated, the Latics prevented Bolton from getting any sort of possession foothold or working the ball out to the dangerous Afolayan.

Bolton’s frustrations were obvious. Evatt picked up a booking after remonstrating with the officials post-penalty claim and will now be suspended from the touchline at Plymouth. Likewise, Ricardo Santos also picked up a booking which will rule him out at Home Park.

Despite their dominance, the Latics only lead by a goal. And when Sarcevic shook the bar soon after the restart with a fine volley, it acted to stir them into life again.

McClean scored the second; of course, he did. The Irishman is not one to miss a publicity trick, as we found out earlier this season, and so after lashing a fine effort past Joel Dixon he celebrated in front of the Bolton fans with gusto.

Some have questioned whether that decision was wise, and whether the Latics players should also face punishment for ‘winding up’ those in the stands but that seems unlikely in the extreme.

Bottles and debris rained down on the group of red shirts in the corner and one Wigan player theatrically grabbed a bottle to take a mock sip, a la Declan Rice or Jack Grealish.

It must also be noted that advertising hoardings were torn down in the away end – much as they had been in the cup game at the DW Stadium back in August. Everywhere you looked, there was unpleasantness.

That theme continued for most of the second half, with referee Charles Breakspear seriously considering removing the players from the pitch at one stage before running over to the touchline to inform police officers of the issues.

Wigan carried on undaunted by the scenes around them and grabbed a third as Callum Lang’s low cross bounced off Dixon and inside the near post.

McClean completed the rout nine minutes before the end – the UniBol by then half-empty and in a zombified state of shock.

Nothing Evatt or his players could say could compensate for such an embarrassment. And by the manager’s own admission it will take his team some time to build back the trust they had earned in the months prior.