IAN Evatt has called on “strong character” from his Wanderers squad in the international break as he plots a path to redemption in League One.

The Bolton boss hopes the return of experienced head Gethin Jones and an impending comeback for his captain, George Thomason, will help to steady a ship still rocking from the 5-0 defeat at Stockport on Saturday.

Evatt is convinced he can regain the fans’ trust in the coming weeks and bring his team back into promotion contention but accepts he must get to grips with some of the wildly polarising performances that this season has already brought.

The angry reaction from supporters since the weekend has been heard loud and clear inside the club – but the Bolton boss believes both himself and the players have to try and keep some of the negativity at bay.

“I just think it’s really important we focus on what the job is and don’t be too affected by some of the outside noise,” he told The Bolton News.

“We do need strong character at the moment. We have to remain professional and have confidence that we can set out and achieve what we want to do. And I honestly think we can, nothing has changed in that.

“I do think the league will be tight, there will be ups and downs for every single side in that top bracket. Our problem is that our downs are almost below the soil, it’s crazy really the depths at which we can perform at times. And that isn’t acceptable.

“I look at that and know it is something we all have to get hold of an improve.

“We are not miles away from where we need to be but you just have to get back on the horse again and build the belief back up, amongst ourselves and among the fans again. If we do that, we have got a chance.”

The Stockport defeat was the heaviest of his managerial career at Bolton or Barrow, and one which stung supporters’ pride even more severely as it came against a neighbouring North West club.

Another Lancashire clash lies in wait against Blackpool after the international break but Evatt wants his players to keep the pain of Edgeley Park in mind as they prepare to mount a response on the pitch.

“It hurt us and you can never just draw a line through it and pretend it didn’t happen,” he told us. “Regardless of what happened that week – and it was hard, it was disjointed and disrupted – we have to look at it, learn and grow. I feel I am capable of doing that, and I think my players are as well.

“In the time I have been here as manager there have been a lot of big questions aimed at me, lots of time when there has been criticism, fair or otherwise, and me and my team have a record of responding to it in the right manner.

“All I ask of the supporters is to keep supporting the players, that is the most important thing, and I will make sure they are ready for Blackpool.”