IAN Evatt is confident he can make changes to an in-form Wanderers side not jeopardise defensive stability.

After four straight wins and three consecutive clean sheets in League One, Bolton head to Cheltenham Town on Tuesday night looking to strengthen their hold on a top six spot.

Evatt has hinted that he will rotate some of the team that beat Lincoln City to keep things fresh and admits there is a temptation to stick with the same formula in midweek.

Wanderers have shifted to a high pressing game this season and, in Evatt’s view, are producing more consistent and even performances as a result.

“All of the players have to understand their responsibility on the pitch and if they don’t do it, they are held accountable,” the manager said.

“Being held accountable means they are not going to start the next game and they all know that now.

“You can see the desire of Dapo, Jon and Demps when they came on the pitch (against Lincoln), almost playing angry and pressing the ball so aggressively, which really helps the team.

“I keep saying it, the strikers in my team aren’t just there to score goals. Obviously we all want them to, and a 20-goal striker is probably pivotal to any team having success in any division. But we really have to understand and respect the work they do for the team out of possession.

“Going back to clean sheets, those clean sheets happen because of the strikers’ work and we should celebrate that as a team because if the score stays nil we can’t lose, and I fancy us at some point in the game to score a goal, whether it is from a centre forward, wing-back or midfield player.

“We are going to create those opportunities so it is very much a team game, and I think we all have to have a little bit of patience if strikers are going through barren spells providing they are doing the out of possession work, which is so pivotal to the team.”

Evatt maintains that he has not changed his attacking philosophy but instead been able to improve his squad gradually to execute a more effective style of play.

Whereas Wanderers once leaned heavily on their ability to score goals and create chances, they are now able to control and manage games more effectively.

“We are all going through a journey and we are all trying to develop and evolve as we go along,” he said. “I think at that stage we were just trying to outscore the opposition because we couldn’t control games the way we can now, and we didn’t have the legs or the energy to be able to press like we are doing now, and that counter-press and transition is just so vital.

“As we have developed, we have developed kind of a better and different plan and I think now our personnel is able to do the things we are trying to do.

“Obviously, everyone wants to keep the score at nil and score three, four, five. I think this team is capable of that on a consistent basis but we are still very much at the progression stage and trying to develop.”