FLAGS waved in the sun, Tony Christie boomed, little ones clung to their dad as they walked slowly around the pitch under the adoring gaze of thousands.

There have been precious few such life-affirming moments since Bolton Wanderers tumbled out of the Premier League, the decade becoming a procession of last-day dramas and desperate disappointments which numbed the footballing senses.

Even last year’s incredible promotion from League Two, achieved behind closed doors hundreds of miles away in Crawley, could only be celebrated by most from behind a laptop screen in the grip of a global pandemic.

This was a ninth-placed finish. It was not a perfect season, nor was it expected to be. There have been mistakes and mis-steps, moments where decisions have been questioned and the club’s fierce determination to push for promotion has looked misplaced.

Since January, however, something wonderful has been created. It did not crystalise in time for a play-off push but if Ian Evatt can maintain this kind of form and connection with the supporters through the summer, there is no question it can happen next year.

Are Bolton ready to step back up into the Championship? I have my doubts. Financially, Football Ventures have rationalised the mess they inherited in August 2019 but whether they have the clout to match the insane budgets at that higher level is very much up for debate. For now, the owners can claim one thing for certain, they have healed this club’s soul. And that is some achievement.

Evatt’s journey from his first touchline appearance in a secret friendly packed with trialists at Atherton Colls to walking round a packed-out UniBol with fans chanting his name has been no less extraordinary.

He has invented and re-invented this team in four consecutive transfer windows, faced calls for the sack, stood up to personal abuse, had bust-ups, make-ups and goodness knows what else that didn’t make the public domain.

And while his popularity in some parts of the country might have suffered, I am here to tell you he doesn’t care a jot.

In many ways he has followed the path cleared by Sam Allardyce, who was watching on from the directors’ box as a guest of director, Michael James.

Big Sam did not care what others thought, even when their views were lazy and ill-informed, and he was even happy to stand his own ground when criticism came from within his own club’s support. He believed in his staff, his philosophy, and the results were there for all to see.

Evatt is building a CV just as compelling. Yes, he failed to gain promotion for the first time in three seasons having previously led Barrow into the EFL and Wanderers into League One, but to regard this campaign as anything other than a positive step would be ridiculous.

He has assembled a younger, stronger squad of players who seem to thrive on the unique pressure playing for this football club brings at this point in its history. And what is more, the manager ‘gets it’ too.

You can never please everyone – and as Bolton laboured in the first half you could pick out the inevitable moans and groans among those not fully invested. When Evatt’s possession-based plan is not running smoothly the football can feel pedestrian, and it does play into the hands of those who feel the ball needs to get forward faster.

Fleetwood had to match Gillingham’s result at Rotherham United to ensure they stayed up and never truly had cause for concern. Their awkward, combative style ensured Bolton found no rhythm for the first 35 minutes, by which time they led through a well-taken chip from young talent Barry Baggley.

Shaken from their malaise, Wanderers began to pass with more purpose. Kieran Sadlier drove wide after a careering run from George Johnston, Declan John had a penalty appeal turned down when his cross his Toto Nsiala on the arm.

Any anger directed towards ref Martin Coy disappeared instantly, though, as he played an excellent advantage to allow Dion Charles to run on to Amadou Bakayoko’s pass and slot in his first goal in nearly 19 hours of football for club and country.

Bakayoko nearly made it two with a fine volley which skimmed the outside of the post, and Bolton’s momentum continued into the second half as Charles nipped around keeper Alex Cairns, claiming he had been pulled back by a defender as he wound up to shoot.

Declan John scored the second, cutting in from the left touchline and beating Cairns with a right-footed shot which took a touch off a sprawling Tom Clarke.

Bolton should really have made the game safe but to Fleetwood’s credit they continued to scrap, Cian Hayes testing James Trafford after getting the wrong side of Johnston. Their set pieces and long throws had been troublesome all day – which may provide some food for thought for Evatt as he plans his summer recruitment – and Joel Garner’s scrappy equaliser came as the result of failing to clear a corner.

Evatt said after the game that he sat down after the equaliser, knowing his players would find a late goal, as they have so often done this season.

No team in Europe’s top leagues has scored more times inside the last 15 minutes, so any fan who makes a habit of heading back to the car park to beat the traffic will have missed roughly a third of their team’s goals this season.

Charles put the Whites 3-2 up in gloriously farcical fashion. Having snapped at heels all day, the Northern Ireland international went in for a showstopping slide challenge near halfway which somehow looped over keeper Cairns from 40 yards before bouncing apologetically into the net.

Evatt sent on veteran Alex Baptiste for what is likely to be his last Bolton appearance, later claiming there was no sentimentality in his decision. Whatever the motive, it gave fans a chance to applaud one of the true unsung heroes of the dressing room, not only in last season’s promotion push, but in building and settling this year’s squad too.

Another sub, Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, put the final exclamation point on the campaign producing a classy finish after Aaron Morley’s shot had been blocked to make it 4-2.

The Icelander fulfilled his promise to lead a Thunderclap after the final whistle, the players signing off for the summer in the most gloriously engaging way possible.

There was no promotion. Opposing fans can look down their nose and claim ninth place deserved no celebration at all, but they are missing the point.

The last couple of years has provided plenty of reminders of what thousands nearly lost through the selfish actions of a few, and now on the pitch we are seeing what a promising future may have in store.

This is a good time to be a Wanderer. Drink it in.