Bolton Wanderers boss Ian Evatt has said he hopes Derby County can find a similar route out of trouble as the Trotters did, though he expects some rough years on the horizon for the Rams.

Derby are on course for a bit of a whacking in terms of a points deduction over financial issues and it could well pave the way for them to drop into Sky Bet League One at the end of this season.

Of course, they'll fight to avoid that this year but it is a stark possibility and Evatt is just hopeful that in the longer term the club comes out of the other side in a healthier state than it is right now, having seen first-hand at Bolton what improvements can be made in due course.

“It is a very, very sad situation,” he said via the Bolton News. “Derby County is a fantastic football club which gave me a brilliant education from the age of 11 until 21.

“I have got fond memories of a wonderful club with great fans and I just hope someone comes and takes it on and saves them because that’s a football club that is underachieving and shouldn’t be where it is.

“I hope people at Derby can look at what Sharon Brittan’s done here and hope and pray for the same,” he said. “It’s going to be a rough couple of years for them but hopefully they’ll turn it around.”

The Verdict

It wasn't so long ago that these two were in the Premier League together and it just shows you what can happen to even some of the more famous names in English football.

Bolton look on a much better footing now, though, and Derby will hope that they can get to that stage, too, though they'll obviously want to avoid falling down the leagues as the Trotters did.