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Ian Evatt has warned any incoming signings at Wanderers: “You’ll have your work cut out!”
The Bolton boss admits his refusal to guarantee regular game time to new arrivals could limit his options in the transfer market.
Wanderers has become a desirable destination for top-flight clubs to send their youngster players after success with the likes of James Trafford and Conor Bradley.
But a good start to the first half of the season and the team’s improvement over the last 12 months has meant that recruitment in the January window has become more complicated.
“It is more difficult to loan in this window for us right now because of how our situation has changed,” Evatt said.
“Parent clubs are not silly. They look at Bolton Wanderers and say ‘you are doing really well, you have a really good squad, a really good team, can you guarantee my player is going to play?’ “And the answer is absolutely not – like everyone they have to come in and earn it. And that in turn changes decisions.
“I as a manager will ever guarantee anyone anything. You have to earn it.
“We are going to have to earn any success we get this season.
“Nobody gets to come here and say they are playing games regardless of their performances, it is simply not how we do things. And if that is someone’s attitude then it pretty much puts us off them.
“Anyone we bring in must respect the squad they are going into and earn the right to come and play in our team. That is not an easy thing to do.
“If they feel they can and they are willing to embrace it, then fantastic. But I will never be in a position where I will guarantee a player anything, they have to come in and earn it.
“Whoever we sign will have that attitude.”
Wanderers have been linked with a handful of loan players during the January window but Evatt has not dismissed the idea that a permanent deal could be done if the right player comes along at the right price.
“We’re asking ourselves, if we bring someone in permanently or on loan, are they going to make a difference in the here and now to get us to where we want,” he said.
“If something comes up that we feel could improve us for the longer term then we will obviously still look at it as well but a lot of our decision making at the moment is deciding what we need to get us to where we want to get to.
“I am confident we have the right options and we’ll work hard to make them happen.”
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