IAN Evatt was happy to see out a difficult week with a win that put some smiles back on faces around the Toughsheet Stadium.

Following disappointing defeats against Blackpool and Wigan Athletic the Wanderers boss felt a sense of relief as his team turned their domination of possession and territory into points against Cambridge United.

George Thomason put the Whites ahead in the first half before Aaron Collins got his first Bolton goal midway through the second to earn a comfortable win.

Evatt said: “It was dominant, wasn’t it? We were upset with the result on Tuesday but 90 per cent of the performance was really good. It was important we backed it up and finished the week strongly.

“It has felt like a lifetime this week, it has been a harsh few days, but the players responded great. The only criticism was that we want more reward for all our good play and hard work, because some of it was exceptional.

“We deserved more goals and could have made it a lot more comfortable for everybody. It was a great win, and I was happy for Aaron to get off the mark.

“It was a clean sheet too and getting back to them is going to be key.”

Evatt made only one enforced change to his team, bringing Collins back for the injured Carlos Mendes Gomes, and the manager explained that his decision to keep a similar side to the one beaten at Wigan had underlined how well they had played.

He said: “I was pleased with 90 per cent of what I saw on Tuesday, it was a dominant performance other than the result,” he said. We knew we had to take more chances but these games are tough when there are 10-11 men behind the ball and you have to find a way to break them down.

“I thought some of our passing exchanges and interplay was great. We had 23 shots, 11 on target, and that looked better. You just want to see more reward for that.”

Wanderers remain third, with Portsmouth, Derby County and Barnsley winning around them, but Evatt says his side have to maintain focus only on their own results.

“We don’t want to concentrate on luck we need to make our own by working hard,” he added.

“I do think it will get better for us. Come the other side of the international break I want to see us still in it but I do think at that point the squad will look completely different, the weather will start to look better, the pitches will be better, and things start to come in our favour.

“But there are a lot of games and a lot of football to be played before that break. We have to keep our head down and keep working the way we did today.

“We can’t control anyone else, we can only take care of our own business.

“It is a hot pace, that’s for sure, but we have to keep pushing, keep winning football matches, and there is a long way to go.”