"People are forgetting" - Ian Evatt drops "shocked" Bolton Wanderers claim as pressure intensifies | OneFootball

The Trotters have won just two of their last eight games, and the supporters aren't happy about it

Bolton Wanderers boss Ian Evatt is determined that his side are still on course for a successful season, despite the chorus of boos that reverberated around the Toughsheet Stadium at full time on Saturday.

The Trotters needed a 90th minute equaliser to rescue a point in a 2-2 draw against lowly Cambridge United at the weekend, a result which sees them with just two wins from their previous eight league games.

The former Premier League side sit three points outside the play-off positions as it stands, and have a game in hand over sixth-places Stockport County in which to make up that deficit.

Despite that fact, the mood was dire in the north west at the weekend, leaving some players ‘shocked’ according to Evatt, with the Wanderers boss speaking to against the ill-feeling towards his side emanating from the stands right now.

Ian Evatt responds to criticism following Bolton Wanderers form

Zeno Rossi’s 90th minute own goal eventually earned Bolton a point against the U’s on Saturday, as the hosts finally got their reward in a game where they dominated possession, but just couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net for much of the 90 minutes.

That performance wasn’t greeted well by the home fans in attendance, with the sour feeling at the final whistle summing up the feeling towards Evatt at this moment in time, despite the club within touching distance of the top six in the division.

Wanderers also qualified for the Vertu Trophy quarter-finals with victory over Lincoln City last week, but in a time of life where everyone constantly expects more, Evatt was left to face the music after the final whistle at the weekend.

“We’re one win away and it’s a hard sell, I get it, but that is the reality of the situation,” he told The Bolton News.

“We're not out of it. We've still got stuff to play for. The best thing for everybody is to be supportive.

“It's football. I have to not take it so personally and make sure that I'm positive and focused on what I'm trying to do. But people are forgetting four and a half years of good work and from this club being in ground zero.

“Which is each to their own. Some of the social media stuff, you can't control. That's just become way out of hand.

“The reality of that is that people with 20 or 30 followers want 40 followers. They feel like the best way to do that is to be over-aggressive and personal, which is the way of the world.”

Bolton Wanderers player left ‘shocked’ after full-time reaction

Joel Randall signed for Bolton Wanderers from Peterborough earlier in the month, with the Trotters shelling out £1.2 million for the player, in a sign of their aspirations for a return to the Championship at the end of the season.

Since he has joined, the 25-year-old has walked into a cauldron of misery in his new surroundings, and Evatt admitted that the midfielder was taken by surprise after his move.

“He's shocked by it,” Evatt told the Bolton News of Randall. “I think he's shocked by it because from the outsiders looking in, I've always said that we're viewed as a really good football team and a really good football club.

“And I think coming from somewhere where Peterborough are 19th, if we were 19th, maybe there's justification. As I said, it's not, we're not.

“We're two games from Wembley in one competition. We could still get promoted in this competition. So, all is not lost.

“We have to do our best to support the players for as long as we can because I do believe that everyone wants to see us win. There's no one that wants to see us win more than me. And we're working very hard to try and make that happen.”

With crucial clashes against Charlton Athletic and Huddersfield Town in the week to come, Evatt will be hoping for a turnaround in fortunes for his Trotters side, as well as a better feeling among the fanbase, as the search for the top six continues amid the turmoil at the football club.