Bolton Wanderers are aiming to continue their good start to the new season tomorrow evening and embark on a cup run when they take on Salford City tomorrow evening.
The Whites take on the Ammies at the University of Bolton Stadium in the first round of the Carabao Cup. It will be the first time the two sides have played since the 2020/21 season, where Wanderers came out on top in the two clashes in League Two.
Tomorrow sees Wanderers host Salford with a place in the second round up for grabs. The draw will take place on Wednesday evening after the conclusion of the televised game between Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday.
READ MORE: Bolton Wanderers injury update on Dion Charles ahead of Salford City & potential return date
Before the encounter, Wanderers boss Ian Evatt spoke to the media at a pre-match press conference. Here's a transcript of what he had to say to broadcasters.
How do you assess the game against Salford?
“A good game for us. A tough game, I have watched a fair bit of them over the weekend. Some nice patterns, in-possession team. They have got some good players, they look like they are well coached. So I think it will be a good challenge, a good test.”
Would you contemplate changes and opportunities for others?
“Every game has a different challenge. We have done a lot of work on Salford. We will have a look at what we feel are their strengths and weaknesses and then pick a team accordingly. We have got a fantastic squad of players with very little drop off, so as I said we will look at it and pick a team that we think is capable of winning the game.”
You must have a pretty happy squad at the moment with a lot of confidence?
“I think they are pleased with the way they played on Saturday. I think it was a good win but, they also understand that it was only one win and they are hungry for more.
“We want to get off to a good start. It has been a steady start, with two tough games and four points in the bank. But we have got lots of hard work to do.
“I still think there are improvements to come. Lots of things were good on Saturday but also some things not so good, so we will continue to work hard and see where that takes us.”
A good cup run wouldn’t any distraction or do any harm at all?
“Football matches are football matches and it doesn’t really matter if it’s a pre-season friendly or a Carabao Cup match or a league match, you want to win every game you play and that’s the competitive edge, that’s why you’re in the game. We’ll have that same attitude and regardless of the team we pick, we feel it will be good enough to win the game.”
Any unavailability?
“No, not at all. Everyone’s fit, healthy, come through Saturday fine and ready to go again.”
You’re all ready to select the correct team?
“I won’t make 11 changes! But we’re all fit and ready to go.”
Do you have to plan that far ahead because you’ve got a midweek game and then you go to Port Vale on Saturday?
“Whether people believe me or not, the team for Ipswich and Wycombe were picked two or three weeks ago because we know what to expect from both teams. We had the whole of pre-season to do work on Ipswich and we know how Wycombe play, so we knew what we felt was needed for that game.
“But we do lots of work and diligence on the opposition and the work is weeks ahead so we kind of already know what we’re looking at, what we need and planning the team accordingly.”
How does that work when you don’t know who you’re playing in a cup tie?
“We’ve known for a few weeks now haven’t we that it’s Salford, so we’ve done a lot of work on Salford. They’re a different outfit this season to what they were when we played them in League Two. They’ve got that in possession style now, the academy style really, and I think it’ll be a good game.
“I think they’ve got some good players, they’ve always had good players. They spend money accordingly so it’s going to be a good challenge and a tough test but one we’re looking forward to.”
How does it feel to beat one of the yardsticks in this league in Wycombe?
“It feels good because I think it’s a good marker as to how far we’ve evolved in the two years I’ve been here. I think Wycombe were one of those teams which we’ve struggled against. We lost both games last year, probably a bit unlucky away from home, but at home we just got ran all over and steamrollered.
“What was pleasing for me was I’ve played with Gareth (Ainsworth) so I’ve known him a long time and as managers do, we discuss things after the game and what was really pleasing for me was not the fact that our technical game was very good and we did things tactically and technically really well.
“But he was impressed with us physically and said we matched them almost and out-Wycombed Wycombe at times, which is a good compliment because when you’re an in possession team, you’re normally labelled soft and flaky so it’s nice we’ve shown that other side of us.”
You brought in Jack Iredale and, as good as Declan John has been on the left, Jack you felt as though would be the difference in the physical sense?
“He just gives us a different option to Declan. They’ve go different attributes. Declan has been one of the shining lights for us since I’ve been here and he’s a very, very good player and still a very important player for us, there’s no changing that.
“But in those types of games where we’re not going to see the best of what Declan gives us and his attributes, Jack has a slightly different skill set, more of defender in that left wing-back position and when you need to be there to win aerial duels and second balls, Jack naturally does that a little bit better than Declan does.
“We’ve got a really good squad of players, everyone has their own individual skill set. We’re trying to get players that have different skill sets to give us some flexibility and I think we’ve done that and we utilised that on Saturday.”
Could it be that because of the work the players have done in pre-season have decided it’s up to us to make sure we don’t end up getting bullied by the more physical sides in League One?
“We’ve had that labelled at us and probably rightly so last season with the results we had against those types of teams, but I don’t ever think we’ve been soft or flaky. I think we do have an edge, we obviously try to be an in possession team but we don’t want to be a possession team for the sake of it. Everything is for a purpose and for a reason and I thought that’s probably the most purposeful we’ve been with our possession.
“I thought we were incisive, we attacked fast with good numbers, the slight disappointment for me was we should have had more goals. But I’m a perfectionist, even though I don’t believe perfection exists, I’m still a perfectionist, so we’ll work hard, we’ll keep going and we think there’s improvement to come so that’s promising.”
What do you make of Salford?
“I think they’ve got a new manager in place, their recruitment has been good, they’ve got good players. We know it’s going to be a tough game. They’re one of the fancied teams in League Two this season so a challenge and a test and everyone wants to come here and play here and raise their game here and play well, so I’m looking forward to the game because I think it’s another opportunity for us to show and implement what we’ve been working on in training. We want to win.”
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