Bolton Wanderers are preparing to host Aston Villa in the second round of the Carabao Cup.
The Whites host the Villans at the University of Bolton Stadium with the aim of producing an upset and dumping the Premier League side out of the competition. Kick-off is at 7.45pm.
Like Bolton, Villa go into the game on the back of a defeat. Gerrard's side suffered a 3-1 loss at the hands of Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday, which leaves them 13th in the Premier League table.
READ MORE: Bolton Wanderers update on Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, Josh Sheehan & Eoin Toal ahead of Aston Villa
Ahead of the encounter which is being shown live on Sky Sports, Wanderers boss Ian Evatt spoke to the press. Here's a transcript in full of what he had to say to broadcasters.
Looking forward to the challenge?
“Absolutely. It’s a fantastic game to have, a wonderful game to have. Just a freebie for us really, nothing to lose, not expected to win, not expected to do anything so I think we can be dangerous when we’re like that so as we always do we’ll come out swinging and see how we get on.”
Is it a good game to have at this stage of the season?
“I think so, I think it’s a game which as a football player you want to play in. There will be some disappointed players tomorrow but obviously the league is our bread and butter and the most important thing, but it’s a fantastic game, a big crowd, Sky TV, a Premier League team, wonderful players and manager, so it’s on we’re looking forward to.”
Is it a personal challenge for you then against a Premier League side and coaching techniques - do you have to alter anything with your preparation?
“If it was a Saturday and we had a free week to prepare then obviously we may do things slightly differently, but we haven’t got that time to prepare so we just have to go and back ourselves and be the best version of ourselves and hopefully that’s enough to cause them problems.
“My teams don’t take backwards steps so we’ll be doing all we can to attack and to press and see how we get on.”
How do you look at it in terms of team selection?
“We’ve made plans for this game and we’ll stick to those plans. There’s going to be some disappointed boys because they feel like this is a really big game. It is, but it’s not, if you know what I mean because the league is the most important thing for us and that’s where we’ll be judged this season.
“We’re not going to win the Carabao Cup so it’s a freebie, a free hit and just to enjoy the day, the game and see where that takes us.”
It would be nice to have a cup run, wouldn’t it?
“Yeah it would but it would be nice to have Aston Villa’s first team as well - we’ve not got that and we’ve not got their money so, we’ll do what we can, simple as that. We’ll do the best we can and that may or may not be good enough - we don’t know - but I think we’ll be competitive and I think it’ll be a good game.”
Any unavailability?
“Jon has got a slight hamstring strain, which he has picked up today. It is disappointing because we can’t really get a free run with him at the moment. He will miss the game. But other than that, everyone is available. We are ready to go.”
What have you learned from watching the Sheffield Wednesday game back?
“Watching it back, I learned exactly what I knew on Saturday. We were in control of the game, they didn’t create any problems in the first half an hour. It was all us – it was tight obviously, but it looked like it was us in the ascendancy.
"And then five minutes of sheer madness really from Conor’s missed chance to then being 2-0 down – it was literally five minutes. The game was lost in those five minutes. But other than that, I didn’t see anything that surprised me. I didn’t see anything that made me think they were superior to us in anyway.
"I just think it was five minutes of madness - we didn’t react well to the initial mistake. Mistakes happen, I have no issue with the mistake. But I have an issue to the reaction to the mistake and then the lead up to the second goal. We are disappointed but it is the first loss in 14 competitive game and only the fourth since the second week of January. It is not the end of the world and we are not going to lose any sleep over it. We will dust ourselves down and go again.”
As you said, there is no point dwelling on the result…
“I just think sometimes you need some perspective on how far we’ve come and the fact that everyone is so disappointed after one defeat speaks volumes on how far we have travelled since January. We weren’t going to go the whole season undefeated and it is how we respond and react to those defeats that will define our season, and now we need a reaction.”
Do you think you learn more about your team when you played against so-called bigger sides?
“I don’t think Sheffield Wednesday necessarily pressed us. I think they went into a kind of mid block and made it difficult for us, but we have them the opportunity to do that. Second half, the ball was very rarely in play.
"It was just disrupted, it was difficult, it was challenging to gain any momentum because they are professional, they are experienced and I thought they managed the game really well. But we gave them that opportunity with that five minutes of craziness, so just eradicate that and go back to what we have been doing.”
Have the changes you made given you some selection headaches for the next couple of games?
“We have got a really challenging spell of games coming up. We have lost that one but we have got Villa tomorrow night and Plymouth away, a tough game. Then obviously Crewe, which will people an opportunity to play.
"Then after that, it is a challenging run of Charlton, MK Dons, Cheltenham and Peterborough all within the space of a month. It doesn’t get any easier but we are not going to feel sorry for ourselves. Saturday is forgotten. We must move on and progress again.”
What are you expecting from Aston Villa and does the Cup take preference?
“I don’t think we are going to win it! But I do think we will be competitive tomorrow night. Whether or not we will be good enough, time will tell. But we will give it our best shot and that is all we can ask for really. We all aspire to be in the Premier League. Myself and the players – we look up to Premier League managers and players. But tomorrow night it is 11-v-11, as simple as that. We leave their household names at the door and we have to just play the individual and not the name on the back of the shirt.”
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