AFTER the pain, the pleasure, and Ian Evatt could not contain his pride after Wanderers dug deep to earn a much-needed victory against Blackpool.

Aaron Collins’ 94th minute winner released the pressure valve which had been steadily building since the heavy defeat at Stockport County before the international break.

The 100th league win of Evatt’s tenure with the Whites, earning three points in such dramatic circumstances against his former club ranked as one of the more satisfying triumphs on the list.

He told The Bolton News: “Football changes so quickly, you go from being top of the form table to losing one game and it’s disaster and crisis but this group of players and staff are very much together, it’s palpable and you see it. Half time, full time, everyone at this club is pushing towards the same goal.

“When it comes together like that, and you get a last-minute winner it’s why we love the game. It is a hard industry, incredibly challenging at times, but when you see it all work out like that it makes it all worthwhile.”

Wanderers were booed off the pitch in the first half having fallen behind to Kyle Joseph’s header and failed to put a shot on target in the opening 45 minutes.

A tactical shift just after the restart brought about a change in fortune and after George Thomason equalised, the change in mood inside the stadium was clear.

“First half we were nervous, edgy, looked like we lacked belief and we needed someone to spark us rather than someone take responsibility themselves,” the manager said. “Second half it was a lot different. Playing with two strikers and three in midfield – single six, two eights – helped us but we haven’t had people available to play that system.

“Having Gethin (Jones) and George (Thomason) back certainly helps us and they have certainly showed a lot of character to come back from that at half time to win the game.”

Wanderers started with Collins and John McAtee playing behind Dion Charles but abandoned the shape very early in the second half. Evatt maintains that having both formations to hand can aid the promotion chase.

He said: “When we analysed last season and lost at Wembley everyone had the opinion that we needed to change and to fix something. That is why we came up with 3-4-3, really. We have had some results with it and some difficult moments as well.

“But the one thing we have got now is two systems, so we are not as easy to prepare and plan for. We can change in-game, as we did today, and when you make those changes post half-time it is hard for the opposition to change themselves. That is what we found with weight of pressure in the second half we should have been ahead.

“We have two systems now. Everyone knows the information and the detail. But the preference is 3-5-2.”

Evatt has come under serious pressure from sections of the Bolton fanbase in recent weeks as the expected challenge for a top two spot failed to materialise. He hopes, however, to have taken a step in the right direction with a win against a local rival.

He added: “This job is as tough as it gets. It has huge amounts of privileges and I am very proud to be the manager of this club but it is difficult.

“I will enjoy it when I go home and reflect on the game but after that I’ll prepare for Cambridge.

“If we don’t beat Cambridge then we’ll probably forget the 100 I just won – that’s the life of a football manager, I suppose, and the industry we’re in. So, it’s on to Cambridge!”