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Ian Evatt admits Wanderers’ performance at Leyton Orient was their worst of the season.
Dan Agyei’s second-half goal was enough to give Richie Wellens’ O’s a deserved win which moved them into ninth – their highest league position in a decade.
Bolton could have few complaints, having been poor in possession and wasting the few chances they created – with two particularly galling misses from top scorer Dion Charles.
“It was very, very disappointing and I think we got what we deserved,” the manager said. “Not because they created loads but I think they played the conditions better, showed more fight, more determination, a willingness to do the ugly side of the game better than we did.
“Our decision making, some of the execution, it was just baffling after what it had been on Tuesday against Luton. That was probably the exact opposite.
Evatt made three changes immediately after the goal, subbing Charles, Victor Adeboyejo and Josh Sheehan, who had all been out of sorts.
The Wanderers boss struggled to explain a desperate display.
“I wish I could have made 11 changes,” he said. “I genuinely do. If I could have made 11 changes I would have done it. I wasn’t happy with anybody.
“I think as a group we just made the wrong choices, the wrong body language at times, and it isn’t like us. Very rarely have I been as disappointed to the extent I am now with that group of players.
“Even having said all of that we had the two best chances of the game, which you cannot afford to miss. Gilt-edged, right in front of goal, no pressure, one-v-one, and we didn’t take them. We saw it at Portsmouth and we saw it again today.”
Wanderers host Cheltenham Town on Tuesday night in a rearranged game from last weekend and though the result came out of the blue – ending a run of four straight league wins – Evatt admits his side has developed a frustrating habit of wrecking their best sequences with this type of display.
“I don’t even want them to think about Tuesday yet because I want them to think about what they have just done, how they did individually and collectively, and it needs to hurt them,” he said.
“Following that, hopefully we get the reaction we want, but we all need to think about how that went the way it did.
“It surprised me but I keep saying to them, every couple or three months we keep throwing in a performance like this. And it is something we have to get over and move past very quickly.
“Every game isn’t going to be how we want it. It won’t be a nice playing surface, a big expansive pitch, passing the ball at our tempo and gameplan. You sometimes have to fight to find a way to win winter football and today we didn’t play the conditions anywhere near well enough.
“When we did we caused problems and got gilt-edged chances but that is as bad as we have been all season, really.”
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