In the postponed match at Cambridge United yesterday night, Ian Evatt provided an explanation for the inclusion of Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, Calvin Ramsay, and Zac Ashworth in his matchday squad.
Wanderers made four changes for the Abbey Stadium match, which was cancelled due to a flooded field after just nine minutes of play.
Prior to the match, Evatt had talked about “complications” about injuries, and it is believed that she was worried about goalie Nathan Baxter’s wrist injury from the 1-1 draw with Barnsley.
Additionally, adding Joel Coleman to the team as cover gave the Bolton manager a decision to make.
Regarding his choice for the match, he remarked, “To be honest, we felt the need to have a keeper on the bench, which changed things.”
“There was a warning sign on the data that said, ‘be careful,’ with Calvin Ramsay and Zac Ashworth both recovering from injuries and having played a lot of football in the prior few weeks. We chose to switch them around.
Additionally, I was unable to start my three forwards off the bench due to the keeper. We believed that given the circumstances, we would have to use the other two. Jon is a team player and is aware of this. On Saturday at Northampton, things might be different, but rotating will definitely be necessary depending on the opposition.
After entering the game on Saturday in the second half, Aaron Collins got along well with Bodvarsson. However, there was conjecture prior to the match on whether the deadline-day signing would receive the starting nod.
Evatt gave an explanation of his bench-starting origins at Cambridge.
He remarked, “We were watching the weather forecast all day and then saw Burton and Cheltenham fall by the wayside, so I started to think about which players would be best in such circumstances.
“Aaron is still adjusting to our presence.” He will play a significant role, but he must get acclimated to our procedures and organisational structure. You witnessed the impact he can have on Saturday, so it will take some time.
“Our team consists of excellent players. My first priority is to make sure they are satisfied, and my second is to select a football club that can win games.
On Saturday, Wanderers go to Northampton Town; further rain and snow are expected before the weekend.
This season, weather-related problems have already made life challenging on the training field, and Evatt acknowledges that his team will be put to the test by the shortened schedule.
Our problem is that there isn’t much time to spend on the grass, so we have to find alternative ways to study. In an effort to transcend what we would typically do on the field, we hold a lot of team meetings, unit meetings, and video learning sessions,” he continued.
“It is the cost of having international football players and of performing well in cup events. We currently have a backlog of fixtures, but our team is capable of handling them.
