IT has been a summer of inward thinking at Wanderers as the club considered exactly why their search for promotion crashed and burned just 40 days ago.

Not since relegation from the Premier League had confidence been drained so quickly and completely, staff at every level from board room to ticket office left to lick their wounds in a silent month of self-reflection.

Only last month the pitch was packed with jubilant Wembley-bound supporters, players clinking beer bottles in the directors’ box and plans being made for a return to the Championship after five arduous years in the doldrums.

Then the most unceremonious rug-pull, leaving all concerned at Bolton looking up blankly from the ground and wondering what the hell just happened?

Few, if anyone, will have taken the disappointment more personally than manager, Ian Evatt.

On paper he had delivered another season of improvement – a third-placed finish with 87 points, a play-off final, a campaign brimming with goals, albeit not necessarily in the games where his team needed them the most.

In reality, Evatt’s failure to get promotion was the biggest knock his six-year managerial career had taken to date. And it was not immediately clear – especially to those who spoke with him in the aftermath of the Oxford defeat – what the future would hold.

Talk of “change” was interpreted in many different ways – from a squad fire sale to a total tactical rethink. Some even speculated that after three seasons trying to escape League One, Evatt may step away from the challenge altogether. Doing so would be out of character for a man who has essentially been fuelled by proving his doubters wrong since the League Two days but the magnitude of missing out on promotion briefly made it feel like anything was possible.

Steadily, piece by piece, it became clear that the manager and the club were winding up for another pre-season, ready to implement the changes that had been first discussed in the Wembley mixed zone.

From a squad perspective, the team that reports back for duty at Lostock this morning is not far removed from the one which sat on a silent team bus from North London six weeks ago.

Experienced heads Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Cameron Jerome have moved on, with two confirmed additions due to make their first appearance on the training ground. Defender Chris Forino and goalkeeper Luke Southwood both come highly recommended from Wycombe and Cheltenham Town, respectively, but neither represent a huge departure from the recruitment specifications we have come to expect in the last few seasons.

Rather the biggest alteration has been made in Evatt’s backroom, which now includes a second assistant manager in the form of ex-Scotland international Stephen Crainey.

Speaking to the club earlier this week, the Bolton boss believed the 43-year-old Scot’s arrival will help him “tick all the boxes” in his staff’s repertoire. “We've had discussions about having a more holistic approach to the staff and the skillset I feel we are missing, Stephen, who I have known for a long, long time, can provide,” he added.

Crainey has experience of management after a six-month stint in temporary charge of Fleetwood Town a couple of seasons back, and he worked in a successful youth system at Wigan Athletic, headed up by Gregor Rioch – son of Bolton legend Bruce.

But as one of a few former defenders in Evatt’s staff – including the manager himself - is it entirely right to say that every box has now been ticked at Lostock? Or should the comment be taken within the context of the club’s budget?

Over the last 18 months great play had been made of Cameron Jerome’s influence on the club’s strikers but his release this summer may leave a gap in attacking knowledge.

Despite playing centre-half in his playing days, few could accuse the Bolton boss of being 'too defensive' and his side's ample scoring record last season was largely achieved with a group of strikers who had been heavily criticised the previous summer. Dion Charles, Victor Adeboyejo and Aaron Collins all ended up in double figures with Paris Maghoma adding another nine from midfield.

But will he look to bring in another experienced front man in Jerome's mould to act as a dressing room mentor?