IAN Evatt had to stay tight-lipped over the fitness of captain Ricardo Santos in the build-up to the win against Derby County.

The Bolton boss played a straight bat to questions about the defender’s fitness after he was taken off against Burton Albion last weekend with an ankle injury.

Santos was back in the side again after missing the midweek Carabao Cup defeat against Middlesbrough, and Evatt revealed after the game that he had tried to keep his availability a secret in the build-up.

“It wasn’t a late call – I just didn’t want you lot to know!” he said. “We had some really good news on Monday that the ankle had settled fast. It was just a case of managing it and keeping it under wraps – there’s no harm in doing that sometimes.”

Wanderers recovered from going a goal down to Conor Hourihane’s penalty, given after Victor Adeboyejo bundled down Callum Elder at a corner.

On the referee’s decision to point to the spot, Evatt added: “I think that happens in the box, a lot of the time, and the only downside for me is that the player bought it a little bit and it was right in front of the referee.

“I have no issue with him giving that, provided he is consistent throughout the game. We got a penalty back and the way we controlled it against a really good team, a well-coached team, was excellent.”

Wanderers got themselves level through a Dion Charles penalty and then edged ahead against 10 men after the dismissal of Joe Wildsmith when Josh-Dacres Cogley’s cross deflected off a defender and nestled into the net.

Despite dominating possession, Bolton did not add to their lead.

“We are a tough team to play against at the best of times when we play like that – but against 10 it can be soul-destroying at times provided we are tight with the ball, move the ball and because of the athleticism at the back we are able to pen teams in at the back and limit transitions,” Evatt said after the final whistle.

“The frustration is not getting the third goal but we have to respect the opposition and they have some very good defenders who know what they are doing. It was going to take patience but they stayed in the game, and that’s credit to them, then had a five-minute set piece frenzy towards the end which we had to manage.

“I am delighted with the performance and for the first time we have shown up against a direct competitor and played the way I know we can, which is great.”

Wanderers are level with Exeter, Stevenage and Port Vale at the top of League One after six games but Evatt says nobody will allow themselves to get carried away.

“We’re joint top, a goal behind, and some of them still irk me – but it has been a solid start, there is a long way to go. We’ll have some highs and some lows and it is how we manage those tough spells that will define how the season goes,” he said.

“I thought there was a huge amount of positivity in the stadium, players can only react well to it.”