IAN Evatt is backing Jay Matete to be an important figure in Wanderers’ promotion push.

The on-loan Sunderland midfielder has started eight games in league and cup so far this season and produced arguably his most convincing display to date in Saturday’s 1-0 win against Peterborough United.

Evatt was pleased with his work alongside Josh Sheehan in the middle of the park and believes the 23-year-old has plenty more scope to improve.

“I thought he was excellent, him and Josh took the ball under pressure and got us building and playing, the positions they were taking up were causing Peterborough problems,” he said.

“Jay has a lot of ability. He is a very confident lad, and he believes in himself.

“I think he will go and show everyone what a good player he can be for us. I was delighted with him on Saturday – delighted for them all, really, because it was a reminder of the levels we can get to.”

Matete was initially recruited to help Evatt bring in a new 3-4-3 system in the summer but after teething troubles forced the Bolton boss to move back to a more familiar 3-5-2, the midfielder found himself displaced.

An injury to George Thomason has now presented a new opportunity, both for the player himself and for Evatt to shift between the two tactical plans.

“The one thing the summer has done for us is give us a little bit of flexibility,” he said. “We obviously can play out 3-5-2 with a single six and two eights, but sometimes we can flip to the 3-4-3 and cause teams problems.

“We have the forward players to do it, they are flexible, they can play as 10s or nines, so we can try and keep the opposition guessing a little bit and keep improving in both systems.

“It gives us that almost Plan B if needed.”

Meanwhile, Wanderers have launched a new flexi-ticket which enables supporters to purchase 12, eight or four-game packages for home games, starting with the visit of Lincoln City on December 29.

Discounted prices are available for all areas of the ground, and fans will be able to select which games they want to watch as a part of the flexi-ticket.

Contact the club for more information.