We Will The World Today: Bolton Wanderers Boss “Aims” To Improve Team’s Mental Strength

We Will The World Today: Bolton Wanderers Boss “Aims” To Improve Team’s Mental Strength

IAN Evatt has challenged Wanderers to prove they have the mentality to be successful in League One this season – starting with a local clash against Blackpool.

After collapsing in their last league outing at Stockport County, serious questions have been asked of the manager and his team’s psyche in the highest-pressure games the division has to offer.

Evatt is a student of the psychological side of football and he believes if his players can improve that side of their game, they can push on to challenge for promotion.

He said: “I believe it is the biggest part, and at times, I think we’ve mentally not been right or switched on. Maybe that’s complacency, maybe it’s pressure?

“One thing we need to do is control the ‘controllables’ better in our own minds and that means having the fighter mentality rather than a victim’s one. At times we have probably gone the wrong side of that and looked at excuses, the noise, the pressures, and it has clearly affected us. We have to rise above that and be stronger, psychologically. We can’t let what happened against Huddersfield and against Stockport happen again, that floor is just too low for a squad of this talent.”

Evatt and his backroom staff currently take a hands-on role supporting players and trying to improve their mental approach – but the Bolton boss has not ruled out bringing in outside help in the future.

“We have looked at that side of things and it comes down to where we pitch it,” he told The Bolton News. “Do we look at a sports psychologist which concentrates purely on performance? If so, who takes care of the players’ mental health and wellbeing because that is also such a big thing with off-the-field issues.

I don’t think it’s a one-size-fits-all type of thing. We need to find something or someone who can tick all of the boxes, but it is definitely something that I believe in. To be in the job I am in requires a huge amount of mental strength, as you can imagine. You have to be pretty resilient.

“And at the difficult times you go back to your learnings, pick up the books again you have read in the past, listen to the things you have listened to in the past, and all of a sudden it starts to hit home again, and you are back on the waggon again, so to speak.”

Post-Stockport, much of the talk at Bolton has been about providing a response against Blackpool and safeguarding against such heavy and dispiriting defeats in the future.

Evatt said: “We have spoken to the players, and I have shown them one or two things that I used in my career, and I think it has resonated with them. We will only see on Saturday if it has made any impact but, for me, psychology and mentality is 70 per cent of football.

“You can have an A for talent but if you have a D for attitude, you won’t get anywhere.

“You can get somewhere with an A for attitude and a B, C, D for talent. There are probably players like that in the Premier League right now.

“The elite ones have an A and an A, and that’s where everyone want to get to.

“I remind players of processes, that we don’t want to look for excuses. We want to find a way out, take the criticism when it comes and when it is necessary but to use it to inspire us to come back and prove people wrong.”

Evatt has also discussed how the environment has changed since his own playing days, and why mental health for both players and managers is an area which must be addressed.

He added: “Modern day football is challenging. If I am speaking honestly and openly, if you walk around any supermarket, you see signs saying: ‘Please don’t abuse our staff, take care of their mental health and wellbeing.’ And we use football as a tool to promote mental health and wellbeing but players and managers get the absolute brunt, so it is difficult. There are a lot of positives to being in this game but there are negatives as well and it’s important we take care of our players and let them know they are supported.

“It is incredibly difficult with modern day footballers to keep them in that mental space to perform well every week.

“The ownership group, and particularly Sharon (Brittan) focussed very hard on mental health and wellbeing, so I hope my players feel supported and that the can provide a response on Saturday.”