IAN Evatt reckons the encouraging start made by James Trafford and Conor Bradley to life at Wanderers is helping the club gain respect from some of the area’s Premier League giants.

Young keeper Trafford and wing-back Bradley have been a big part of Bolton’s solid start to the League One campaign, which they hope to continue at home to Sheffield Wednesday this afternoon.

Loaning players from Manchester City and Liverpool would have been unfathomable a few years ago but Evatt claims work behind the scene to establish a brand of football, improve facilities and the standard of the squad, have all helped make Wanderers an appetising destination for young players from the top flight.

Liverpool’s former sporting director Michael Edwards scouted out Lostock earlier this year to see whether it would be right for Bradley – and City were also sufficiently impressed with Trafford’s improvement last season to send him back again.

Evatt is proud of the improvement.

“We’ve worked really hard on earning trust,” he said. “We’re in a great position here in the middle of the hub of football, the North West, with some brilliant football teams and some football clubs around us. Man City, Liverpool, Man United, Everton - those football clubs.

“It is testament to the work we have done as a football club that they trust us. The way we play and our identity, teams like that, they like to see what we are trying to do.

“Michael Edwards has left Liverpool now but he came and spent time with me last season, spent time at the training ground, looked at what we’re doing and how we’re doing it.

“He was really impressed and off the back of that, we’ve built relationships with Liverpool with some of their key staff and key decision makers and they’ve trusted us with Conor.

“Likewise Man City with Jams Trafford. It’s important for us that we keep building these relationships because it can benefit both parties.

“Conor’s benefited from playing every week, Liverpool are benefiting by Conor playing very week in a great football club like this in front of big crowds in a big stadium and we’re benefiting because we’re getting the best young players from the area coming to play for us and improve the team. It’s win-win.”

Edwards left Liverpool in the summer after 11 years but Evatt explained that he had approached Wanderers to check out what they were doing behind the scenes.

The club has now maintained a good relationship with the Reds via technical performance director, Chris Markham, and which could well bear more fruit in the future.

“Michael approached us and myself and Chris Markham, spent time with him, went through what we do, how we do it, watched some training and really liked what he saw,” the manager said.

“Chris is really good at managing those relationships that at times are difficult for me, but Chris is constantly speaking with Liverpool and how they’ve been doing things because for me, their recruitment policy and how they’ve gone about building that football club again from many years of disappointment to now having success constantly is amazing. Look what they’ve done right now, so if we can learn anything from them it’s great for us.

“There is constant dialogue, there is a mutual respect there and we’re really happy that they have trusted us with Conor.”