Bolton Wanderers 3-1 Mansfield Town - Ian Evatt's reaction

Though the Bolton boss admits Hiram Boateng’s needless red card was a turning point in the match, he felt the impact of a quadruple change on the hour mark was also pivotal in a result which put his side on to the shoulder of the play-off picture.

Goals from Dion Charles, Victor Adeboyejo and John McAtee sealed a 3-1 win, cancelling out Boateng’s first-half header. And though the performance was once again far from flawless, Evatt was able to reflect on a satisfying end result after the final whistle.

“I think that’s 250 games, 126 wins, I believe, so any time you are over 50 per cent you should be pretty pleased,” he said.

“Today I thought we started well and had some big chances we should have taken.

“I said to the players we have to tighten up in both boxes, we have to be ruthless when those chances come, and they did early on, and we have to start stopping crosses and defending balls into the box better. That was another poor goal to concede and it made it incredibly difficult for us.

“The conversation we had yesterday was about accepting that, for now, we are going to be under scrutiny and pressure, and we have to be able to cope with it. But I also know the way that Mansfield would approach the game, be very aggressive, lots of man-to-man pressure, lots of one-v-ones, and we knew that having energy and speed from the bench would help us.

“Yes, the sending off helped us, but I do believe the game would have opened up and the lads coming on would have helped us anyway.

“Thankfully it did and the lads who came on were excellent, Jordi in particular, he showed what he is going to bring to the table. I am really pleased we managed to overcome a difficult moment to get three points because that is all that matters, we move on to Bristol.”

Evatt opted to invert his wing-backs, with Szabolcs Schön starting on the right and Josh Dacres-Cogley the left – a pattern which continued for the final half an hour with great effect with Randell Williams and Jordi Osei-Tutu.

The manager explained: “We felt because of how man-oriented they are and the one-ones you create, if you can pass to a wing-back and come in on their strong foot, you are able to play around corners quicker. I think there were a couple of times in the first half that Cogs flipped it, playing around the corner, and it is something we are looking to add. We are looking at ways we can keep opposition guessing and us improving.

“We have only been doing that since Cambridge and I have liked what I see, so it gives me an opportunity to keep working on it more.”

Evatt had discussed the pressures of the job and of the expectations placed upon his players in the build-up to the game, and it did not escape his attention that the mood around the stadium before the second-half fightback was decidedly grim.

“Nothing changes in my job, every day is an emotional rollercoaster,” he said.

“It is down to me to try and keep calm, keep some perspective and clarity, that’s my role, and keep the players believing and focussed. It’s a tough gig, tough job, but it is a job I love, I am incredibly proud to be a manager of club. And for 250 games I have given it my absolute all.

“While I am here, I will continue to do that.”

The quadruple substitution did help to change the game in Bolton’s favour, not least with Charles, who had been dropped to the bench in favour of Adeboyejo.

“It was always the plan,” he said. “We looked at the game and thought that if they pressed the way they did and were so aggressive that they would fatigue and we would be able to bring on some fresh legs, especially in the wide areas. Randell and Jordi on that inverted side, Randell prefers it out there and Jordi can play on either flank. If we can start giving them the ball in one-v-ones then we knew they would be hard to stop.

“The lads who came on, Dion was hungry and annoyed that he didn’t start the game, but I like players with a point to prove. Once again he got his goal and proved his point.”