Bolton Wanderers opted to go with Jack Iredale over Declan John for the 3-0 win over Wycombe to be more defensively secure but Ian Evatt has vowed the Welshman remains a 'huge player' for the club.
The Whites took the lead in the first half when Kyle Dempsey finished to give the Whites the advantage following good work from Liverpool loanee Conor Bradley. They doubled their lead just before the break when Aaron Morley slotted home from Dapo Afolayan's pass.
Dempsey added his second after the break as Wanderers ran out worthy 3-0 winners. It leaves the Whites third in the League One table after two matches so far.
READ MORE: Injury update on Dion Charles after missing Wycombe win & when Bolton striker could return
Iredale was one of three changes Evatt made from the opening day draw on the road to Ipswich Town. The former Cambridge defender took the place of John, who dropped to the bench.
And Evatt explained the decision and that dealing with physicality and the defensive questions Wycombe would pose meant Iredale got the nod. But Evatt is adamant 'bright light' John remains an important player for Bolton as he felt his side could have won by a greater margin.
He said: “We’ve tried to recruit players that can cope with all opposition and all challenges this season and Declan’s been one of our bright lights really since I’ve been at the club and today was a game really where we needed to be more secure and solid, especially in the out of possession scenarios and the long balls, the goal kicks, the diagonals.
“We had to stand up to that today and Jack’s better suited and better equipped to deal with those and we did that great. Declan’s still a huge player for us. We’ve got a great squad of players that offer us many different things and we’ve just got to keep them all in one piece first and foremost and then keep them on board and on side.
“That’s my job, it’s a tough job but hopefully they’ll all buy in because they can see the rewards at the end of it.
“If I’m being slightly nitpicky we had some more opportunities that we could have been more clinical with and ruthless and executed our final decision better, but we looked fast on transition. We attacked fast with speed and with good detail and we’ve been working really hard on that.
“That’s what we asked the players to do today and they’ve shown that in abundance. The pleasing thing for me was the clean sheet. They’re always handy, especially when you’ve got the firepower we have and even moreso against Wycombe who are really challenging to defend against. The gameplan, the lads applied that perfectly really and it was a solid win.”
Liverpool loanee Bradley impressed again on the opposite flank, setting up the opening goal with a run the Chairboys could not deal with. Evatt is pleased with the teenager and believes the youngster has the attitude to back up his lofty ambitions with his parent club Liverpool and Northern Ireland.
He said: “He’s a wonderful young man with a fantastic attitude and first and foremost, we asked the players every single day to bring energy and attitude because if you give me that, the talent will then come off the back of that and he gives us that in abundance.
“The upbringing that he’s had from his parents back home but also from Liverpool, they keep them humble, they keep them hard working and there’s nobody that works harder than him. I’m delighted for him.
“He knows he’s got a lot of work to do and a lot of improvement to come, especially if he wants the career that he wants to have, international football and being a part of Liverpool’s first team is going to be hugely challenging but he’s got a great opportunity and he’s certainly got the right attitude to back that up.”
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