IAN Evatt has revealed why he let Kieran Sadlier leave Wanderers on loan last week.

The winger made his debut for Leyton Orient in League Two on Saturday, playing 89 minutes in a 1-0 defeat at Tranmere Rovers.

Sadlier had been a popular player among many supporters and had contributed five goals this season, his last coming earlier this month against Derby County.

The majority of his starts had been made in the cup competitions, with just one in the league, but nevertheless Sadlier had appeared on 28 occasions in total.

“We had an honest conversation about where I thought he was at,” Evatt told The Bolton News.

“Obviously when he signed we were playing 4-3-3 and we had the conversation about moving to 3-5-2 and having had a lot more success with it. Predominantly he has been used in the wing-back areas and although he will do that as an impact substitute, it is not really him, or his bag.

“We had a conversation about playing there, and also the forward areas, but for me there were other targets I knew I wanted in the building and I couldn’t guarantee his playing time.

“Sads is at an age where he wants he be playing regular first-team football and wants to be starting every single week, and at the moment we couldn’t offer him that.

“We always try to do right by our players and we allowed him to go out on loan.”

Sadlier’s departure may well have opened the door for Lloyd Isgrove, who appeared in the squad for a league game for only the second time this season on Saturday.

Evatt had been keeping his options open on the former Southampton wide man, who has also filled-in as a right wing-back and started there against Accrington Stanley back in October.

Isgrove has fought back from two major hamstring injuries and returned to full training at Christmas. His only two previous appearances this season had been in the Papa Johns Trophy, against Leeds United’s Under-21s and Tranmere Rovers.

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