Wanderers will look to string together seven wins in a row for the first time since 2016 when they travel to face Stockport County in the Bristol Motors Trophy tomorrow night.
Not since Phil Parkinson’s team beat Swindon, Oldham, Bury, Millwall and Port Vale in the league, bookended by cup wins against Blackpool and Grimsby, has a Bolton team put seven wins together on the spin.
Evatt – who managed seven in a row as Barrow boss en route to promotion from the National League in 2019/20 – has been proud of the reaction his players showed after the previous international break.
“I wouldn’t point my finger at one specific thing but what I have seen from the players is consistent, and when we can perform consistently this team can get results because they are a talented group,” he said.
“Their attitude to work is fantastic, they enjoy coming into the training ground to work and to learn, and as a manager that is all you can ask for, really.
“It is tough, because it is hard to leave players out of the 11, hard to leave them out of the 18, but this group is very much together and from what I have seen it is an exciting place to be.
“It has been great to get players back from injury and we’re doing the best we can to keep them all in one piece moving forward but the best thing for me is that there is still a lot of things to refine and improve, and that is the attitude that the players have too.”
Wanderers will make changes at Stockport, with Josh Sheehan, Eoin Toal, Dion Charles, Carlos Mendes Gomes and Zac Ashworth away on international duty and Kyle Dempsey (back), Will Forrester (knee) and George Johnston (knee) unavailable because of injury.
A few more players are nursing minor knocks, which could further restrict Evatt’s options, but the Bolton boss is confident the team he selects at County can get a result which will ensure a home draw in the next round.
“It is a great opportunity for someone,” he said. “These players are ready for that and they are showing they want that chance. We will have some youngsters involved, which is great for us to see where they are at compared to the rest of the group, and we can do that because we are already qualified. Every team we put out will be trying to win, so I am looking forward to seeing how they get on in what should be a competitive game against good opposition.”
Tickets will be available on the night at Edgeley Park, priced at £10 for adults, and £5 for Over-65s and Under-18s.
Prices have also been announced for the FA Cup second round tie with Harrogate Town, to be played at the Toughsheet Stadium on Saturday, December 2.
Adult tickets are priced at £10 each, with Over-65s and Under-18s £5 each. Only the lower tiers of the East and West Stands will be initially made available.
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