Bolton Wanderers return to action in League One tomorrow evening when they take on struggling Crewe Alexandra.
The Railwaymen make the journey from Cheshire to the University of Bolton Stadium for an 8pm kick-off.
Wanderers are without a win in their last five League One games and will be seeking their first victory in the division since early October.
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And they will be taking on David Artell's side who are rooted to the bottom of the League One table and will be searched for three points just as much as Wanderers.
Before the game, Ian Evatt spoke to the media at a pre-match press conference and here's a transcript of what he had to say to broadcasters.
What’s the latest fitness update and availability?
“All positive. We’re getting people back all the time. As I said before, we have to be patient, especially the ones that have been out for a significant period such as Xav Amaechi, but he’ll be involved tomorrow night. He’s looked razor sharp in training and it’s refreshing to have him back.”
Where do you place this home game, with the charity game and the FA Cup replay?
“I think we’ve got a really busy month coming up but a very important month. We’ve got some very winnable fixtures and this is the first of those, so we have to take care of business and make sure we perform to our levels.”
Does that put everybody under that bit more pressure to win against Crewe?
“Being manager of this football club and playing for this football club always has pressure. The pressure never stops, it’s relentless, but that pressure can’t become fear. We have to show strong character, strong belief and make sure we perform to our levels.”
Does that surprise you, since you’ve been here now for some time, that pressure situation?
“I think it’s the same at most clubs but I think with the history this club’s got and the size of it and its fanbase that wants success.
"We’re not used to seeing Bolton Wanderers in League One and we’re trying our best to get out of it but we’re trying to do it in the right way and a sustainable way where we don’t put this club at risk. Sometimes you need some patience. What I’ve learnt from football in general but certainly from being at this football club is things never come easy.
"You have to work really hard for them, everything worth it in life, you have to work for and it’s important that we stick together and show togetherness and composure and be calm in the face of the storm and make sure that we keep working hard, keep our feet on the ground and enjoy the good times when they come, because we’ve had good times and obviously we’ve had some lows as well.
"October was a low, we’re trying to and have I think stopped the rot, and now it’s about getting positive results and moving forward again.”
Crewe are pretty desperate for a win, no disrespect to them, but is it a dangerous fixture?
“I think every game is a dangerous fixture, but certainly Crewe, where they are, they’ve almost got nothing to lose.
"They’re going to come out here and try and get three points, we owe them a couple from last year, probably more than a couple with them being us in the FA Cup and beating us in the friendly etc, so we want to come out there, give a good account of ourselves and hopefully get three points.”
How do you respond to fans booing at the end of the Stockport game and do you think they're unhappy in some respects with what they're seeing?
“I disagree. Obviously we try and want to try and win every game we play in. We didn’t manage to win that one but we didn’t lose it and we’ve got another opportunity.
"I think there’s other clubs of a similar stature, if not bigger than ours, that have been knocked out of that competition this weekend, so we can’t take it for granted. When you’re in the heat of the moment and you’re emotional after games or you’ve just witnessed a game, sometimes you don’t get a true reflection of what the game actually looked like. We completely dominated that fixture. We made two really poor errors that cost us two goals.
"Obviously the first one was an error and then the second one is just game management and half-time, but other than that, it was all us really.
"I think the statistics showed that and when I watched it back it showed that, we’ve just got to cut out those silly errors and we’ll be fine. We’re doing a lot that’s good, but at the moment we’ve got a nasty habit of shooting ourselves in the foot.”
It seems like George Thomason has become a lot leaner and meaner on the pitch - what do you think about that?
“I think he’s an excellent young player and as I said on Sunday, there’s not one player in football, including Ronaldo or Messi, that’s not made a mistake in their career.
"We’re asking him to receive the ball in tight areas, we’re asking him to receive the ball from back players and sometimes when you play that way, mistakes can happen and the most positive thing for me was his reaction after that. He didn’t go and hide.
"He went and received the ball again and again and again and did very well. He’s a very good young player with a fantastic attitude and I’m over the moon with him.”
Kachunga and Doyle were both on the scoresheet last weekend. Doyle has gone through spells in his career without goals, but for Elias, he must have been thrilled in training the next day?
“He’s (Kachunga) wanted to get a goal. Obviously the one thing that’s been missing from his performance has been the goal but I think he’s starting to come to the boil, he’s starting to look a threat in the box, but also his work ethic and link up play is very good.
"We’re all frurstrated at some of the results we’ve had over recent weeks and especially in October and obviously for instance the Gillingham game and the Stockport game, drawing at home, but if you actually watch out performances, they haven’t been that bad.
"We’re not playing poorly, we’re just making poor mistakes in key moments of games and we have to cut that out.”
What has training been like this week?
“Training’s been excellent, the lads are in good form, they’re in good spirits, they’re frustrated themselves and they want to start going on a good run again and we feel like a good run is only around the corner.
"I think what we’re doing this weekend is a magnificent example of where this football club is right now and the togetherness that we show on and off the pitch.
"I think it’s fantastic that we’re doing that for Gethin and his family and I can’t think of more deserving people than those. But we’ll all enjoy that weekend a lot better with three points on Friday night so we have to go out there and take care of business first.”
Crewe are going to come into this game with effectively nothing to lose - what do you do to try and counteract that?
“Just be good at what we do. It’s as simple as that. We always respect all the opposition we play against.
"We always do our due diligence and analysis work, but for me it’s about how we play and if we play to our levels, I expect us to win the game. If we don’t, then we won’t and football’s a simple game sometimes.”
