Ian Evatt would rightly have a smile on his face as he laced up his cricket boots and pads this on Sunday morning knowing he’s still not out.

Faced with an escalating and worrying situation at Wanderers he had made some ballsy calls, even admitted mistakes, and could easily have been heading into a hat-trick of away games on a hiding to nothing.

Instead, his players came through for him, not before time. His choices paid off and though a 5-2 win against Reading was not without its faults, it was most certainly a step in the right direction for a side still harbouring ambitions of automatic promotion next May.

Whether the manager’s job security was really as strained as it seemed after the 4-0 defeat against Huddersfield Town, we may never truly know for sure. Evatt certainly has a flair for the dramatic and his post-match interview had fuelled just about every critical voice the town had to offer for several days afterwards.

What is beyond question is that something had to change. And in a rare moment of submission, he ripped up the gameplan he had cooked-up post play-off final defeat in May to revert back to a system that felt as warm and comforting as any roast lunch laid at the table the following day.

The 3-5-2 formation isn’t flawless, much like the manager who favours it, but it does at least suit players like Eoin Toal, Josh Sheehan, Josh Dacres-Cogley and Dion Charles, who had been just a few of many struggling with the complications of the former system.

Whether Wanderers can play this way and avoid being choked out in the same way they were against Oxford United or go into battle against a direct promotion rival and come out on top remains to be seen. This was all about putting one boot in front of the other once again, and it immediately felt a good fit.

Evatt’s other big call was to remove the captaincy from Ricardo Santos and hand it to George Thomason, which to some may have been viewed as a snub to the defender who has been the central pillar of the team for the last four years.

Fans certainly picked up on the fact that Santos walked back down the tunnel rather than join the players on a lap of appreciation after the final whistle, albeit after a big hug from his manager.

The 29-year-old won’t lose an ounce of respect in the dressing room regardless of the armband and may well admit in his heart of hearts that the stress of fronting the team in the last nine months has chipped away at his form and confidence.

And before his critics conspire, it is worth remembering that captaincy can be stripped from the best of them. Just ask Jay-Jay Okocha, who lost the armband to Kevin Nolan in late 2005 when his own Premier League performances started to dwindle under the weight of his responsibilities.

Thomason has always been an old head on young shoulders and few, if any, in the Bolton camp share quite the same depth of tactical understanding with Evatt. His role in the team won’t change, nor will that of Santos, but the redrawn lines could help to relieve some of the pressure.

It is hard to recall a regular league game that has carried such expectancy at Wanderers, with many holding the view that anything but a win would give the board reason to consider change. Evatt maintained on Thursday that he had the requisite backing among the ownership group and on the terraces, and in both cases he has been proven correct.

That is not to say the supporters were as convivial as they would normally be towards the Whites boss, at least until the bitter end of the game. A very small number conjured a banner in the North Stand at one stage which read “Evatt Out” but it had been neatly folded up and packed away by the time Bolton went in at half time 4-1 to the good.

A strong start to the game and an early 11th minute free-kick from the restored Josh Sheehan made sure of a buoyant first-half atmosphere which never threatened to lapse into the same stormy mood we had eventually felt in the previous two home outings. The chastening experience of the last fortnight might have been a warning to both the players and Evatt himself, however, of what can happen when standards slip.

Three goals from Charles before the break gave Wanderers a comfortable cushion. The first and third were penalties, as Reading’s clumsy defending was punished, but the well-taken second was a hark back to his best form, leaving one defender on his backside after latching on to Dacres-Cogley’s pass and then sliding a shot through the legs of David Button.

The Royals have had plenty of distractions of late, a failed takeover and nefarious ownership echoing Bolton’s own darker days. Their young side may have looked porous but they did create chances and after Ben Elliott prodded a shot off the post to beat Nathan Baxter the keeper came up with a stunning save to push away Amadou Mbengue’s header before half time and prevent any serious nerves from jangling.

Wanderers’ second-half performance was not as crisp. Sam Smith scored a second from the spot for Reading after being tripped by Santos and – briefly – those dark clouds seemed to be edging their way across the skies from Winter Hill.

Thankfully, a succession of substitutions brought some fresh energy to Bolton’s cause. Kyle Dempsey headed a fifth from Randell Williams’ corner and then hit the crossbar late on after a goalmouth scramble.

Aaron Collins and John McAtee, both relegated to the bench, also showed some spark late on to give another layer of hope to the home crowd.

A smattering of empty seats suggested that at least some supporters elected to stay away in protest at the poor start and it would be wrong to say that one improved 90 minutes has solved the problems which have racked up for Evatt and his team since the summer.

Until now there had been no hope offered. A new formation had seemingly neutralised some of Bolton’s biggest assets and the manager himself was looking somewhat lost in the noise.

Evatt’s tenure at Bolton is flecked with big decisions which have proven signposts for better times, and some would argue a degree of stubbornness has stopped those changes happening quicker. In this case, there is ample time to put things right for everyone.

He looked more at peace leading the applause after the final whistle, the baggage of the last few weeks dropping off him with every stride.

Having been hit for six by the frustration of the last few weeks, the manager might now enjoy a spell at the crease again to build his innings.