Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley has admiration for the business done by Bolton Wanderers in the January transfer window which he feels clearly shows the ambition of Ian Evatt's side.
Wanderers return to the University of Bolton Stadium tomorrow evening when they take on Pompey in a game which has been rearranged to an 8pm kick-off due to the international break.
It is an encounter between two sides sitting midtable in League One with both sides sitting 11 points from the play-offs, with both sides harbouring now slim hopes of reaching the top six by the end of April.
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Cowley's side took all three points in a 1-0 win at Fratton Park earlier on this campaign, but much has changed since then and a very different Bolton team is poised to take to the pitch tomorrow evening compared to the previous meeting.
Wanderers have signed Dion Charles, Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, Kyle Dempsey, Aaron Morley and Kieran Sadlier since the last game in a fruitful and productive Janaury transfer window.
Cowley believes that Wanderers have signed a lot of players that many other clubs in League One would want to have on their books.
And the Pompey boss believes the business done shows how ambitious and progressive Wanderers are hoping to be in the future, with Cowley having a lot of respect for the job Evatt has done.
Cowley said: "A great game for us. An ex-Premier League club, been averaging over 20,000 supporters. I think they are a really ambitious, progressive club.
"A really good promotion under Ian Evatt last season. This year, they showed in January how progressive they are looking to be and how ambitious they are looking to be with some of the signings.
"They have signed players that a lot of League One clubs would have loved to have signed and they now have some really top players for this level and a very clear identity of how they want to play.
"Without a doubt, a lot to respect."
