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Ian Evatt admits the Leyton Orient game became “win at all costs” after the recent dip in form.
The Wanderers boss cut a relieved figure after his side nearly blew a three-goal lead, a series of late blocks in front of goal preventing Richie Wellens’ men from snatching a late draw.
Josh Dacres-Cogley, Dion Charles and George Thomason established a commanding position inside 10 minutes – but Bolton missed a few big chances to extend their lead, then suffered after half time when the O’s started to play more direct.
Shaqui Forde and Theo Archibald got the visitors back into the game but Wanderers held on to three points which puts them third, two points behind Peterborough United with a game in hand.
“Today was win at all costs, it doesn’t matter how you do it,” Evatt said after the final whistle.
“First half was scintillating at times. When Dion missed the chance on half time nobody could have imagined the effect it would have had on the game.
“Second half we just didn’t react to their changes. They went very direct, man for man pressure, really aggressive, lots of set pieces, and we didn’t change quickly enough.
“They scored at the perfect times and credit to them, but the boys dug deep and found a way to win. All you will see at the end of the season is three points, and that is all that matters.
“It is one of those games where people can pick holes and faults in it but the most important thing was staying the course.
“There are going to be games where we blows teams away because I think we are a good side. But there will also be ones where you have to respect the opposition, their changes and their plan.
“Sometimes you have to find a way and dig deep. That was almost like a Northampton-style performance and from there, we built a run, so let’s do it again.
“It is amazing how quickly you can lose confidence from one or two negative results. I felt there was a little bit of nervousness, second half in particular, and we can be better than that. But the most important thing is we won the game.”
Asked if there was a concern that Wanderers were struggling to put ‘two halves’ of football together, Evatt felt the result could be an important step in rediscovering the sort of consistency they showed through October and November.
He said: “We did that when everyone was raving about us, singing from the rooftops, I’d got back-to-back manager of the month awards, and then all of a sudden you lose two games and I’m the worst manager in the league and everything is chaos.
“We have to stay calm, relaxed and focussed on the prize. Yes, we know we can play better than we did in the second half. The most important thing is we won the game.
“We missed the value of Rico – the most dominant centre-half we have – and at times you could see that. But there are people who have dropped points elsewhere and we are not even halfway through the season yet, even though it feels this season has been going on forever. There’s a lot of work to do.”
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