IAN Evatt says Wanderers will take criticism “on the chin” after falling to back-to-back defeats in the league for the first time since October 2022.

Confidence dented at Portsmouth, Bolton looked sluggish from the start at home to Bristol Rovers on Saturday and trailed 2-0 at the break after captain Ricardo Santos was handed a straight red card for a professional foul.

Evatt courted controversy by subbing his top scorer, Dion Charles, for an extra defender in Will Forrester – and though the move helped to inspire an improved second-half display with Eoin Toal’s late strike raising a glimmer of hope, there would be no comeback.

Wanderers dropped to fifth and Evatt was left reflecting on a difficult week where his team’s automatic promotion credentials have suddenly come into question.

“It is the nature of the job,” he told The Bolton News, asked if criticism would be accepted. “I have just won two Manager of the Month awards, everyone was delighted with how we were going but a couple of bad results and it comes back around.

“This is why you can’t get too high or too low and have to keep yourself consistent. You have to keep faith and belief and we will do that with each other.

“Yes, first half, we do deserve to be criticised. But second half I thought the players showed a lot of character to do what they did.

“Any stick which comes our way, we will take that on the chin, but come Monday it is all about getting ready for the next game against Leyton Orient and making sure that we hit the levels and standards we are capable of hitting from the very start of the game.”

Fears over the fitness of Jon Dadi Bodvarsson have been allayed, however, after the Icelandic striker limped straight down the tunnel in the second half of Saturday’s game.

One of the few players who did themselves justice in the previous two defeats, Bodvarsson’s injury was considered to be a minor one after the final whistle.

“He has a dead calf, and got a real whack on it,” Evatt said. “It isn’t muscular, it isn’t really a significant injury just a contact one. It is very sore and stiff, hopefully it will only take a few days to recover because I thought, again, he was excellent.”

Evatt said he did not need to read the riot act to his captain, Santos, whose poor start to the game was compounded with a foul on Rovers striker Aaron Collins and punished by a straight red by referee Carl Brook.

The defender became only the second Bolton player in history to be sent off four times for the club, equalling the record set by goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Evatt believes Santos fully understood the gravitas of his mistake.

“He knows, I don’t need to speak to Rico,” the manager said. “I don’t need to say anything, he understands his level and his standards, and he dipped below them today. He is a brilliant player for us, and we will back him to come back.

“Will (Forrester) came on and did great. Second half we completely dominated, it looked like they were playing with 10 men. Great credit to the players but we have to start the game that way, with that energy, intensity and desire, that is when we are at our best. It just wasn’t there, the zest wasn’t there, and we have to get that back.”